Armed robberies up in northern Shan State capital after Myanmar junta’s takeover

Gangs of armed robbers have reemerged in Lashio, northern Shan State since the Kokang armed group Myanmar Democratic National Alliance Army (MNDAA) handed over control of the city to the military last month, locals said. Residents of Lashio—the site of the Myanmar military’s Northeastern Regional Military Command (RMC) headquarters as well as the largest city in northern Shan State—said they were living in fear of the thieves every day. On May 17 at midday, a group of robbers with guns held up a phone shop in Ward 7, taking over 50 mobile phones and about 5 ticals (81.5 grammes) of gold, according to residents. Armed robbers also reportedly threatened and robbed a woman on a motorcycle on May 13 at around 1pm, waylaying her hear Mansu Monastery in downtown Lashio before taking her gold necklace. Two days earlier, a house was robbed on Parami Street east of the junta’s state-level police headquarters. The robbers stole gold, money, and a car during the incident. A Lashio resident in his 50s said the robberies had grown noticeably worse, causing some to lose sleep from anxiety. “The robberies are really bad. I can't sleep soundly at night,” the resident said. “The robbers—it’s not just one person with a gun. They come in groups of four or five, so we have to be afraid.” Residents also said that the gangs mostly seem to speak Chinese, carry pistols, and drive Toyota Crowns or cars of a similar style. “They came to our ward too. It was around 8 pm," said a man living in Ward 9. “There were seven people. They demanded someone open the door to his house, but the homeowner didn’t open it.” A market in Lashio’s Ward 9 on May 21 (Photo: Supplied) “They came in a white Crown,” he added. A video circulating on social media showed a Crown-type car swerving to block the path of a woman riding a motorcycle in Lashio during daylight hours before the robbers got out and stole the motorcycle from her. Lashio is under the control of Myanmar’s military junta, which took over control of the city from the Kokang ethnic armed group Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) last month. The Kokang group had captured the city from regime forces in August 2024 during the sweeping Operation 1027 offensive campaign, holding control for the next eight months. However, the Chinese government pressured the group into a ceasefire agreement with the junta, the terms of which stipulated the return of Lashio into the regime’s hands. Control was restored to the junta on April 21 of this year. An unending series of robberies began on the evening of April 23, the day after junta troops re-entered the city, according to residents. Records obtained by Myanmar Now showed that at least eight robberies or thefts occurred at well-known locations throughout Lashio between April 23 and May 21. Considering the likelihood of unreported incidents, the true number is probably higher, Lashio residents said. Several people, including two women, were injured during these robberies, according to locals. Robbery and extortion of local businesspeople were also reportedly frequent in Lashio from early 2023 to July 2024, before the MNDAA captured the city. The perpetrators were alleged to be members of Chinese-speaking, junta-sponsored “people’s militias”, some of whom the MNDAA reportedly detained, punished, and even executed while in control of Lashio and another northern Shan State city, Laukkai, in the predominantly Kokang area on the Chinese border. Local businesspeople said the current pattern of robberies resembles the state of affairs before the MNDAA’s takeover. “We have to be careful in this situation,” a Lashio businessperson said. “Extortion could happen again like before. We have to warn shop employees to be alert and respond quickly if anything happens.” “After the fighting, almost everyone has weapons. Even police walk around in civilian clothes carrying weapons during the day," he continued. “The former Lashio People's Militia who came with the junta are also carrying guns again. Now we don't know who is who. The people in the city are just living in fear.” Having regained control in the city, the junta may be neglecting urban security as it prioritises the resumption of its own administrative operations at government offices, hospitals, and schools, locals familiar with the junta administration said. However, locals have raised the issue of the robberies in meetings convened by the junta administration, according to one resident who was in attendance, and other locals said junta troops had recently started going on joint nighttime patrols with city police. The military regime reopened the city’s main hospital on May 5 and has been working towards reopening the schools, municipal office, and airport. Military personnel and their families have also returned to their residences on military compounds in Lashio. While MNDAA forces are still stationed within three miles of Lashio, they no longer intervene in affairs inside the city. With crimes growing more frequent in their absence, some residents have said they would welcome an intervention by the Kokang fighters in the city. However, a senior MNDAA official based near Lashio said the group would only be able to determine how to address problems in the city after the upcoming Kunming discussions, referring to scheduled, Chinese-brokered talks between the MNDAA and junta officials in the capital of China’s Yunnan Province. Some MNDAA leaders have already arrived in Yunnan Province, which shares a border with northern Shan State. Talks between the junta and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army—another ethnic armed group allied with the MNDAA during Operation 1027—are also scheduled to resume in Kunming in August. Records and data kept by the junta’s General Administration Department indicate that Lashio was home to more than 140,000 people living in 12 wards, with another 150,000 living in rural villages in Lashio Township, surrounding the city. While the MNDAA agreed to hand over control of Lashio to the junta, they have retained control of seven other towns in northern Shan State, including Laukkai and Chin Shwe Haw in the Kokang Self-Administered Zone as well as Konkyan, Kunlong, Mongko, Pang Hseng, and Hseni (Hsenwi).

Armed robberies up in northern Shan State capital after Myanmar junta’s takeover

Muggers and stickup men have been roving the city in groups since the Kokang armed group that was holding city, bowing to Chinese pressure, relinquished control to the junta

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