Junta-appointed officials move into Lashio after MNDAA withdrawal

Junta-appointed officials and administrators arrived in the northern Shan State town of Lashio on Friday, filling a power vacuum left by the withdrawal of the Kokang-led Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), residents told Myanmar Now.The move comes shortly after the MNDAA, also known as the Kokang Army, a powerful ethnic armed group based in northern Shan State, ceased its administrative operations in Lashio, the capital of northern Shan State. In early April, under heavy pressure from China, the MNDAA agreed to withdraw from Lashio before month’s end. “The military has not entered the town yet, but junta-appointed administrators, [military] police officers, and other civil servants have begun arriving in the town and are expected to reinstate the junta’s administrative system on April 21,” a man from Lashio said. Local sources told Myanmar Now on Friday morning that a junta convoy departing from Mongyai Township, located roughly 40 miles southeast of Lashio, passed through Nam Pawng, a village just 13 miles to the south of Lashio, as the junta troops moved further towards the city. Roads between Lashio and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA)-controlled towns of Hsipaw and Kyaukme have been closed to clear the way for the junta convoy, the Lashio sources explained.“The town is quite normal,” another Lashio resident said. “Markets and shops are open and Kokang police are still around. Some roads in Ward-2 are closed.”Another Lashio resident told Myanmar Now that Chinese officials have also begun arriving in the city, and are set to hold a meeting this evening.“A trade office will be established in Lashio, while the Kokang police force will remain in the city to ensure security,” the Lashio resident said. “Junta-run departments, including the Customs and Immigration offices, will resume operations.” The removal of troops and MNDAA administrators began on April 3. The main hospital and other administrative offices run by the MNDAA have begun shutting down in recent days. Earlier this month, the MNDAA began stripping Lashio General Hospital of equipment as they prepared to leave the city. Despite the MNDAA’s withdrawal from the urban areas of Lashio, it still controls the villages surrounding the city, extending into Hsipaw Township. Sources say that MNDAA has even set up a checkpoint near Me Han Village, less than two miles south of Lashio. The armed group also holds control over the town of Hsenwi, located just 35 miles north of the city. After seizing Lashio in August last year, the MNDAA set up an administrative apparatus and resumed services at the city’s hospital to support returning residents. But the military regime responded with heavy airstrikes, while China closed key border crossings, cutting off vital supplies—food, medicine, and other essentials—to resistance-controlled parts of northern Shan State.The battle for Lashio was a key turning point in Operation 1027, a coordinated offensive by ethnic armed groups to dismantle junta control across northern Shan State. Capturing the strategic city dealt a symbolic and logistical blow to the military, disrupting supply routes and signaling a pivotal moment of unity among resistance forces. Lashio residents have expressed concern to Myanmar Now as they anxiously await the return of regime troops who are expected to re-enter the town by April 21. “If the military enters the town, they will begin to oppress the people again,” a displaced man from Lashio told Myanmar Now. “They will start conducting mass arrests and more forced conscription.”

Junta-appointed officials move into Lashio after MNDAA withdrawal

Residents brace for regime return as junta convoy nears northern Shan State capital

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