Kachin anti-junta armed group says talks in progress after Ta’ang fighters raided its bases

Following assaults by the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) on its outposts in northern Shan State on Sunday, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) claimed this week to be engaged in negotiations with the Ta’ang armed group. Members of the TNLA raided KIA checkpoints and an administrative office in northern Shan State’s Manton Township, part of the territory in Kyaukme District designated as the Palaung Self-Administered Zone (SAZ).The Palaung SAZ is an area granted a degree of autonomy in Myanmar’s military-drafted 2008 constitution to allow self-government by the Ta’ang ethnic community, also commonly called the Palaung people. The Palaung SAZ comprises northern Shan State’s Manton and Namhsan townships.TNLA forces raided three KIA checkpoints at the Lauk Gyel, Yaw Kyein, and Man Phan gates in Manton Township, manned by members of the KIA’s Battalion 4 and located within an area the KIA claims as the territory of its Southern Regional Command Brigade 4.The TNLA fighters also reportedly seized Man Mau village in the same township—where one of the KIA’s regional administrative offices is based— confiscating weapons and detaining KIA officials and staff.KIA spokesperson Colonel Naw Bu confirmed that senior KIA officials in northern Shan State are negotiating with the TNLA regarding these incidents.“At the moment, we haven’t received clear information. Our high-ranking officers from the Southern Regional Command are taking part in negotiations, but we have yet to hear of the outcome,” Col. Naw Bu told Myanmar Now.He added that the circumstances of the raids were still unclear due to a lack of information from the ground.“The situation remains unclear, particularly whether the matter was a serious clash, or whether it was their foul or ours,” he said.Myanmar Now contacted TNLA spokesperson Lway Yay Oo to request comments, but did not receive a response.Territorial disputes between the Kachin and Ta’ang armed groups surfaced in northern Shan State’s Kutkai, Namkham, and Manton townships earlier this year, with members of the two groups notably sanctioning a fistfight between lower-ranking soldiers from each, but avoiding the use of arms or other violence. The two armed organisations reportedly held two rounds of discussions in January addressing their mutual tensions, but have not announced a resolution.Both groups are also fighting against the Myanmar junta, which has carried out a sustained campaign of airstrikes in territories under their control.The TNLA, along with the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and the Arakan Army (AA), is a member of the Brotherhood Alliance, which carried out a sweeping offensive against the Myanmar military in northern Shan State in 2023 and 2024 dubbed “Operation 1027”. The withdrawal of junta forces from northern Shan State has often left behind power vacuums, leading to territorial disputes among anti-junta groups in townships like Kutkai, Manton, Namtu, and Namkham.The principle that “whoever wins the battle owns the land” has long contributed to the frequency of such disputes, according to Than Soe Naing, a veteran former member of the Communist Party of Burma (CPB) who served in northern Shan State for around 20 years. Fighters from three of the KIA’s brigades operate in northern Shan State, including in territories captured by the TNLA and MNDAA.The KIA seized the large village of Nam Hpat Kar in the TNLA-controlled Kutkai Township in January 2024, and the groups’ territorial claims also overlap in the townships of Namkham, Namtu, and Manton. Founded in 1961, the KIA has two brigades based in northern Shan State—including Brigade 10 based in Kutkai Township—and eight based in Kachin State.During Operation 1027, the TNLA captured 12 towns, including the ruby-mining hub of Mogok in Mandalay Region and northern Shan State’s Hsipaw, Kutkai, Kyaukme, Manton, Monglon, Mongmit, Mongngawt, Namhsan, Namkham, Namtu, and Nawnghkio.The KIA has also seized 14 towns in Kachin State and the town of Mabein, northern Shan State during the offensive launched in March 2024.While the MNDAA is the TNLA’s ally as a member of the Brotherhood Alliance, the MNDAA and KIA are both members of the Federal Political Negotiation and Consultative Committee (FPNCC), another coalition of armed groups.The FPNCC’s membership also includes the United Wa State Army (UWSA)—one of Myanmar’s largest and best-equipped armed groups—and the National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA) based in Mongla, eastern Shan State, as well as the KIA, MNDAA, and AA.

Kachin anti-junta armed group says talks in progress after Ta’ang fighters raided its bases

Territorial disputes have reportedly resurfaced in Manton Township, northern Shan State between the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and Kachin Independence Army (KIA)

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