Ceasefire between Brotherhood Alliance and Myanmar military ends in northern Shan State

The Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) announced on Tuesday morning that it had resumed anti-junta offensive operations in northern Shan State in response to multiple ceasefire violations by the Myanmar military. The announcement came two days after a clash broke out near Lashio, northern Shan State between the military and the TNLA’s ally, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA)—also known as the Kokang Army—which had been a party to the same ceasefire agreement. Along with a third allied organisation—the Arakan Army, which operates primarily in Rakhine State—the Ta’ang and Kokang groups are both members of the Brotherhood Alliance, which launched a coordinated offensive against regime forces dubbed “Operation 1027” in October 2023. A ceasefire agreement mediated by the Chinese government, sometimes called the “Haigeng agreement” brought Operation 1027 to a temporary halt in January of this year. The Ta’ang ethnic armed organisation’s information team said that clashes had broken out between the TNLA and regime forces in northern Shan State’s Nawnghkio and Kyaukme townships as well as Mandalay Region’s Mogok Township, where the TNLA’s Brigade 2 maintains a headquarters. “It may be said that the second wave of the anti-regime resistance offensive has begun as of this morning”, a source close to the TNLA said. “The regime has repeatedly violated the ceasefire deal and China is unable to intervene. The Haigeng agreement seems to be merely a façade,” he added. The Ta’ang ethnic armed group was able to capture seven towns in northern Shan State during Operation 1027 before the ceasefire took effect. Violations by military bring truce to an end According to the TNLA and local sources, the junta carried out airstrikes on Kyauk Kyan village, Nawnghkio Township during a pre-dawn battle on Tuesday morning, while clashes broke out on the outskirts of Kyaukme, northern Shan State near the road to Mogok, Mandalay Region. Kyaukme was quiet and empty following the battle, according to town residents, some of whom posted video footage of the town on Facebook showing closed shops and silent streets. “We’ve been hearing artillery fire since 6am. We are staying inside our homes. We couldn’t evacuate the town as all roads were blocked,” a resident said. Kyaukme locals also said the junta’s artillery shelling had also caused two casualties in one of the town’s residential wards, but Myanmar Now was unable to verify the number of civilian casualties in the township independently. Clashes also broke out near Pan Sa Pe village, Mogok Township at around 9:30 am, according to the TNLA’s information team. Three days before, locals said a battle had occurred between the junta and TNLA forces in Mogok Township, which is adjacent to Nawnghkio Township, at around 11am. A man living in Mogok Township said that junta forces stationed in the township’s Lower Pein Pyit village some 10 miles west of Lashio launched an attack on a TNLA position in Upper Pein Pyit village, leading to a half hour of fighting. The damaged monastery building in Upper Pein Pyit village in Mandalay Region’s Mogok Township (TNLA Info) “The battle came to a halt after the junta troops retreated but the military’s scouting drones and fighter jets kept flying over Mogok,” he said. The TNLA, which confirmed that a battle had taken place, said the junta air force bombed Upper Pein Pyit at around 3pm, damaging a village monastery. The group also said that control of the Pein Pyit villages, which are strategically situated on Mandalay Region’s border with Mongmit Township in northern Shan State, will provide anti-junta fighters with an opening to attack several of the junta forces’ positions. The People’s Defence Forces (PDF)—the armed wing of the publicly mandated National Unity Government (NUG)—including the Mandalay PDF (MDY- PDF) are also active in these areas. The TNLA alleges that the junta has been bombing and shelling both civilian areas and TNLA targets in northern Shan State since the ceasefire took effect in January, and that the attacks have recently claimed the lives of at least three TNLA fighters, leaving four other fighters and five civilians injured. Hostilities between MNDAA and junta reignite a second time According to local sources, the MNDAA—which was also a party to the Haigeng ceasefire in northern Shan State—fought with junta forces on Sunday near Ping Kan, a village around 10 miles east of northern Shan State’s administrative capital, Lashio. The MNDAA, which is also a member of the Brotherhood Alliance, came under attack by junta forces in Ping Kan at around 8am and fought with them for 30 minutes, according to a local resident. The junta force that conducted the assault included troops from Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 115, which operates under the military operations command office in Kyaukme, he said. “The battle started because the junta forces launched an attack but it was outside the village, not inside. There was no fighting this morning though,” he added. The MNDAA has yet to release a public statement regarding the clash, and Myanmar Now has not yet been able to reach the armed group’s spokesperson for comment. The clash near Lashio is the second instance of hostilities between the MNDAA and military since they agreed to the Haigeng ceasefire in January. Another battle occurred on March 26 some 10 miles southeast of Lashio between the villages of Long Mun and Ping Kaing. Since mid-June, regime forces have amassed fresh troops, formed new drone units, and deployed heavy artillery outside of Lashio in an apparent effort to reinforce defences around the town, the location of the army’s northeastern regional military command headquarters. They have also blocked or severely restricted traffic through the town’s entrances and exits. The Brotherhood Alliance has maintained control of most towns in the vicinity of Lashio since the beginning of this year, while Lashio itself remains under the regime’s control.

Ceasefire between Brotherhood Alliance and Myanmar military ends in northern Shan State

The MNDAA and TNLA, members of the Brotherhood Alliance and parties to a temporary truce with the junta mediated by China, both resumed fighting with the regime forces in northern Shan State this week

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