Fighting erupts between junta and KIA troops near Mongmit in northern Shan

Intense clashes erupted on Tuesday between the Myanmar military and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in Nyaungni, a village located three miles from the junta-controlled town of Mongmit (Momeik) in northern Shan State. Col. Naw Bu, spokesperson for the KIA, told Myanmar Now on Wednesday that the junta was continuing to launch heavy airstrikes on the area since they launched an offensive against KIA troops stationed near Mongmit the day before. He added that local People's Defense Force troops were fighting alongside KIA forces. Locals said that junta airstrikes had damaged a school and a monastery, and had injured at least one Buddhist monk. A Mongmit resident said that the sound of gunfire and explosions from junta airstrikes could be heard from the town. Locals said that residents of Nyaungni were forced to flee the village when fighting broke out, but that the junta has closed the road to Mongmit, making it difficult to escape. As of Wednesday evening, the Myanmar military continued to carry out airstrikes on forested areas outside Nyaungni where resistance forces are believed to be located. The junta has not released any statement regarding the Mongmit battle. Mongmit, situated on the border of Kachin and Shan states in northeastern Myanmar, has a population of over 10,000 people. The town was seized by the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) in July 2024 as part of Operation 1027, but Chinese pressure forced the group to hand it back to the junta in November 2025. In January 2024, during an earlier battle to retain control of Mongmit, junta forces were accused of killing at least 27 civilians in the town and forcing around 6,000 to flee. Despite the withdrawal of the TNLA from Mongmit and its occupation by the regime, the area around the town remains under the control of the KIA. Military analysts noted that Mongmit is only about 35 miles away from Mabein, a strategically located town controlled by the KIA and the All Burma Students' Democratic Front, and that the junta has been preparing since last month to try and retake full control of both the broader Mongmit and Mabein townships. At the end of July, junta chief Min Aung Hlaing extended the “100-day plan” that he implemented following the inauguration of the military-controlled parliament in April, inviting several ethnic armed organisations to take part in peace talks. Since then, the junta’s peace negotiation committee has met with members of the Federal Political Negotiation and Consultative Committee (FPNCC), including the United Wa State Army, the Shan State Progress Party/Shan State Army, and the National Democratic Alliance Army, also known as the Mongla Army. The KIA, which is also a member of the FPNCC, has not responded to the junta’s invitation, Naw Bu said on Wednesday.

Fighting erupts between junta and KIA troops near Mongmit in northern Shan

The Myanmar military is attempting to capture KIA-controlled territory near the town, which the TNLA was forced by China to hand over to the regime last year

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