Former allies clash in northern Shan State on China-Myanmar border trade route

In a rare clash between sometime allies, a powerful Kokang ethnic armed group has seized the town of Kutkai, northern Shan State from a Ta’ang ethnic armed group, potentially allowing important trade routes to China to reopen, locals and frontline sources said. Fighting between the Kokang armed group—the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA)—and the Ta’ang armed group—the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA)—culminated on Sunday night when MNDAA fighters used dozens of drones to capture the last remaining TNLA defensive position, according to local sources. “The Kokang forces kept attacking with drones,” one Kutkai resident said. “After they captured the strategic hill, they took the whole town last night. There are no TNLA fighters left here.” Clashes continued Monday morning outside Kutkai along the road linking the town of Namkham to the village of Nam Hpat Kar, according to local sources. TNLA spokesperson Lway Yay Oo confirmed fighting had occurred near the 12-mile checkpoint between Namkham and Nam Hpat Kar and said MNDAA forces had carried out drone attacks. Kutkai is located on the main route linking the cities of Mandalay, Lashio and Muse with China’s Yunnan province, one of Myanmar’s most important cross-border trade corridors. The two armed groups previously fought as allies against the Myanmar military in the Operation 1027 offensive in northern Shan State, and the recent fighting between them appears to reflect the groups’ strategic calculations in response to Myanmar’s changing conflict situation. A leader of the People’s Defence Force (PDF)—the armed wing of the National Unity Government—confirmed that regaining access to China via the Mandalay–Lashio–Muse trade route is the evident aim of the operation. “The main objective seems to be reopening the route to Yunnan,” the resistance leader said. “Since Operation 1027 began, this road has effectively been blocked.” During the Operation 1027 offensive launched in late 2023 by the Brotherhood Alliance— which included both the TNLA and MNDAA as members—the groups’ fighters succeeded in capturing dozens of towns across northern Shan State and disrupting Myanmar’s lucrative overland trade with China. Even after Chinese officials exerted pressure on the anti-junta groups to return key captured towns to the Myanmar military, both the TNLA and MNDAA retained control of sections of the highway between Lashio and Muse. The recent fighting between the Brotherhood Alliance members may be related to political developments in Naypyitaw, where Myanmar’s military authorities convened a new session of parliament on Monday following controversial elections held in December and January—widely dismissed as a ‘sham’ by the international community. The Myanmar military junta might benefit from restoring the trade corridor and a sense of stability and normalcy in northern Shan State as it launches ostensibly new procedures of governance in the country. “This is more than just a clash between two ethnic armed groups,” said the PDF leader who spoke to Myanmar Now. “The timing suggests it is connected to efforts to normalise trade in northern Shan State and reinforce the legitimacy of the military’s political process.” Local media outlets have reported that MNDAA representatives and officials from the military government are holding meetings in Lashio, but further details remain unclear. Following the recent clashes with the TNLA, residents and local sources said MNDAA forces have cut off the flow of goods and fuel from China into TNLA-held areas in northern Shan State, heightening pressure on the Ta’ang group. Tensions have heightened in recent months between the TNLA and MNDAA, which previously managed the administration of Kutkai jointly after capturing the town during Operation 1027. Clashes broke out between the groups in February after MNDAA fighters installed surveillance cameras in the town, prompting the TNLA to shut down MNDAA offices there. In the weeks leading up to the latest offensive, residents of Kutkai said the MNDAA had sent fresh reinforcements and weapons to surrounding villages while blocking supplies of food, medicine, and fuel to TNLA-controlled areas. During MNDAA raids on TNLA positions near the Kyin San Kyaw and Muse 105-mile trade zones, the TNLA said around 70 of its members were taken prisoner. Residents of Nam Hpat Kar also said the MNDAA had conducted searches in the village and detained several civilians. “In the western part of the village, Kokang troops searched houses,” a Nam Hpat Kar resident said. “Four men from Ward 4 and another man who had gone out to plough his field were arrested.” Local sources also said a man and child were killed in Kutkai when they were struck by drone rounds during the fighting. Another civilian was reportedly injured in Nam Hpat Kar and the TNLA said some of its fighters were killed or wounded. The situation in Kutkai had become more stable by Monday morning, according to residents, with shops reopening and traffic gradually resuming after MNDAA troops reopened the roads from Kutkai to Hsenwi (Hseni) and Lashio.

Former allies clash in northern Shan State on China-Myanmar border trade route

The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) captured the town of Kutkai from the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), another ethnic armed group alongside which it fought the Myanmar military between 2023 and 2025

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