Despite ‘ceasefire’, Brotherhood Alliance forces fight their way to northern Shan State capital

Anti-junta forces captured a military checkpoint and reached the entrance of Lashio, northern Shan State this week despite having announced a temporary ceasefire with the military on Sunday. Members of the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA)—also known colloquially as the Kokang Army—and their allies took control of the checkpoint in Mae Han village seven miles southwest of Lashio’s town entrance on Monday evening. The junta troops manning the checkpoint withdrew towards Lashio following a battle with the MNDAA-led forces, reportedly regrouping at a market in Nar Ma Khaw village near Lashio’s town entrance. “The junta forces are now at Nar Ma Khaw and we kept hearing artillery shells going off this morning. We didn’t hear any gunshots, though,” a Lashio resident said on Tuesday, adding, “There have been four airstrikes as well.” The MNDAA-led forces pursued the retreating troops, continuing their advance towards Lashio—northern Shan State’s administrative seat and the location of the Myanmar military’s Northeastern Regional Military Command headquarters—and taking control of the entrance gate to the town early on Tuesday morning. The MNDAA is a member of the Brotherhood Alliance, a grouping of anti-junta ethnic armed organisations currently engaged in a coordinated offensive against the Myanmar military. This week’s fighting occurred despite statements announcing a four-day temporary truce with the military, issued on Sunday by both the MNDAA and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), the other Brotherhood Alliance organisation operating in northern Shan State. The MNDAA’s statement, issued on July 14, claimed the group would observe a ceasefire with the Myanmar military between July 14 and July 18, but set a condition that they would fight back if the military initiated an attack. The clashes reportedly broke out after junta forces stationed near Lashio fired artillery all day on Monday, increasing the frequency of their shelling in the evening. In addition to the Mae Han checkpoint, Brotherhood Alliance fighters have reportedly captured all junta bases on the Kyaukme-Lashio road between Mae Han and the city entrance, as well as the campus of the Technological University-Lashio near the Ho Peik toll gates, north of the city. Impact on civilians At least three civilians were killed during the battle in Mae Han, with locals saying the deceased were an elderly woman and two elderly men. The real death toll was likely higher, they added. Civilians displaced from Lashio, shown on July 7 (Konay) “There were a lot of civilian casualties. Three victims were killed by artillery shells. But it’s possible some bodies were also moved while I wasn’t there,” a local social welfare worker said. Although no fighting had yet broken out near the Mae Han tactical hill base and the army’s Light Infantry Battalion 507 base, which were under MNDAA control, the junta air force also carried out bombing raids near those bases at least five times. Artillery shells fired by junta forces from inside Lashio landed in populous areas of the city such as Ward 8 and Ward 12. “We know the ceasefire didn’t include Lashio because they didn’t stop shelling. They’ve just fired three times during this phone call,” a Lashio resident told Myanmar Now on Tuesday, describing the heavy artillery fire from junta bases in the north and east of the city. “But we’re not hearing any rifle fire yet.” Junta shelling on Monday also reportedly caused extensive damage to wards and villages to the east and northeast of Lashio. Residents of Hat Kar, Man Nar, and Pang Hpat villages mostly fled to the Kan Mein monastery in Ward 12, local social welfare volunteers said. A man in his 50s was also injured amid shelling in Ward 4 on Saturday, they added. Civilians have fled the city en masse due to recent violence, with many passing through the Mae Han security checkpoint that is now under the Brotherhood Alliance’s control. An abortive ceasefire Even after the MNDAA’s announcement saying all its forces must abide by the four-day ceasefire order, locals correctly feared that clashes would continue to break out in northern Shan State. Myanmar Now has tried to reach spokespersons from the MNDAA and TNLA, both of which agreed to the ceasefire, but all calls have gone unanswered. MNDAA and TNLA troops in the second week of January 2024 (Myat Pan/ Myanmar Now) A source with knowledge of the TNLA’s affairs said that the group agreed to observe the ceasefire only in northern Shan State’s Kyaukme, Hsipaw, and Mongmit townships, but not in the neighbouring Mogok Township, Mandalay Region, where battles have been ongoing. The source, a TNLA member, said that 20 trucks carrying junta reinforcements were advancing from Yatsauk (Lawksawk) Township in southern Shan State to Kyaukme Township, northern Shan State, where the TNLA has been fighting the junta for full control. The TNLA has also claimed in public statements that the junta caused civilian casualties when it carried out attacks in Mogok, Kyaukme, and Hseni (Hsenwi), northern Shan State on Monday despite the ceasefire purportedly having gone into effect. An elderly woman was killed and three other civilians were injured by shelling in Kyaukme, according to the TNLA. The group also said the junta air force bombed an intersection in Hseni and injured four civilians in Mogok Township, and that clashes broke out on Monday in Nawnghkio, northern Shan State, which is largely under TNLA control. A damaged monastery in Taung Kaing village in northern Shan State’s Mongmit Township on July 11. Junta shelling on Sunday also killed five civilians and injured 12 in Mogok, Kyaukme, and Lashio townships, the group said. Both the TNLA and local civilians said clashes also continued on Monday at junta bases near Kyaukme. According to information gathered by the TNLA, junta shelling has killed 67 civilians and injured 106 in areas where the group is operating between June 25—the date hostilities resumed with the military—and July 15. The military council issued a statement on July 11 claiming 18 civilians had been killed and 24 had been injured during TNLA assaults on Lashio starting on July 3.

Despite ‘ceasefire’, Brotherhood Alliance forces fight their way to northern Shan State capital

The MNDAA and its allies advanced to Lashio, the site of the Myanmar military’s northeastern military command headquarters, after seizing a junta checkpoint seven miles from the town entrance

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