Kawlin retaken by junta forces after three months in resistance hands

After nearly two weeks of fierce fighting, Myanmar’s military has retaken the Sagaing Region town of Kawlin from forces loyal to the shadow National Unity Government (NUG), according to resistance sources. “Kawlin has been fully captured. They [junta troops] are now burning rice mills and entire neighbourhoods,” said a source close to the NUG’s Military Regional Command 1, speaking to Myanmar Now on Thursday. “There are still resistance forces positioned near the town, but fighting inside the town has stopped,” he added, noting that the anti-regime fighters were forced to retreat on Tuesday. Resistance forces based in Kawlin and neighbouring Kanbalu Township to the south confirmed that clashes had come to a complete halt. “We had to give up the entire town. We had to momentarily withdraw. Currently, the situation is calm, without any fighting,” a resistance leader from Kanbalu said. Kawlin, located some 185 miles north of Mandalay, was captured by forces under the command of the NUG and its allies in early November of last year. It was the first district-level town to come under the control of the resistance. Lt-Gen R Hkawng Lum of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), acting as commander of the NUG’s Military Regional Command 1, led a combined force of KIA, People’s Defence Force (PDF), and People’s Defence Team (PDT) troops tasked with defending Kawlin. The PDF is the armed wing of the NUG, while the PDT is under the direct command of the NUG’s Ministry of Defence. In addition to junta soldiers, as many as a 1,000 members of the military-backed Pyu Saw Htee militia are estimated to have taken part in the regime’s efforts to reclaim the town. The assault commenced on February 3, with junta columns advancing south from the nearby town of Wuntho and north from Kanbalu. Junta soldiers in front of the Kawlin police station on February 10 (MOI) The combined resistance forces were initially successful in fending off the attacks, but were later hurt by heavy artillery fire and airstrikes, according to another source close to the Military Regional Command 1. “When the fighting started, we had some victories. About 100 junta soldiers were killed. On the day they ultimately captured Kawlin, they launched heavy attacks from three directions: north, west, and south. That’s when we suffered losses,” the source said. Three other towns in Sagaing Region—Shwe Pyi Aye, Maw Lu, and Khampat—remain under the control of resistance forces. At the time of reporting, the NUG was continuing to administer services in Khampat and Maw Lu, where conditions were stable. While the junta attacked the Indian border town Khampat last December, they were forced by the resistance to retreat. Shwe Pyi Aye, located on the eastern bank of the Chindwin River near the border with India, has also been repeatedly targeted by junta forces since it was captured in November. The most recent assault was on February 8. In late November last year, the NUG announced that it had confiscated more than 44 billion kyat (US$20.9 million) from five banks in Kawlin.

Kawlin retaken by junta forces after three months in resistance hands

Resistance forces say that air and artillery assaults forced them to finally withdraw from the town after nearly two weeks of intense fighting

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