Kokang army releases more than 80 junta soldiers captured in Lashio

The ethnic armed group Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) has freed scores of prisoners of war whom the group captured in 2024 upon taking over the military’s northern Shan State headquarters, according to locals and sources close to the detainees. The MNDAA—also commonly called the Kokang army—had been holding the prisoners in the China-Myanmar border town of Chin Shwe Haw before handing them over to the Myanmar military in Ho Peik, Lashio Township on January 14, sources familiar with the arrangement said. The prisoners were reportedly brought to the township’s urban center after the handover. “Many of them are in poor health,” a Lashio resident said. “Some have been taken to military hospitals. Others are being housed at bases. There are elderly people among them.” Another resident noted that there were no senior officers among the freed prisoners. “Only soldiers of low rank—no higher than sergeant—were among them. They are being released in small batches,” the resident said. Lashio, the largest city in northern Shan State, is home to the military’s Northeastern Regional Military Command (RMC) headquarters, which fell to the MNDAA and its allies in early August 2024 during the second phase of the broad-based “Operation 1027” offensive—the first time armed groups fighting against the Myanmar military had captured the city. The MNDAA detained more than 4,000 people when it took over the city and RMC, including junta soldiers, police, and their families. The captives included the former regional commander Brig-Gen Sot Tint, chief of staff Brig-Gen Thant Htin Soe, and Brig-Gen Myo Min Htwe, who had directed at the lower-tier Military Operations Command 1 in Kyaukme. The Kokang army released more than 3,000 family members of armed personnel later in 2024. Initially held at Lashio Prison and in nearby villages, the prisoners were later transferred to the cities of Laukkai, Chin Shwe Haw, and Kunlong after the MNDAA withdrew from Lashio in 2025. Along with its ally, the Ta’ang National Liberation Army, the MNDAA captured most of the major towns in northern Shan State during the Operation 1027 campaign. However, pressure from the Chinese government and a junta counteroffensive ultimately forced both ethnic armed groups to return control of most of the captured territory to Myanmar’s military. Adhering to the terms of a ceasefire agreement brokered by China, the Kokang army handed Lashio back to the junta without a fight in April 2025, allowing the military to reassert control over the city’s 12 urban wards. According to MNDAA-connected sources, the group has been releasing elderly and sick prisoners periodically on humanitarian grounds. Released prisoners deemed fit for duty are returning to active service in their old units, according to sources among the military personnel in Lashio. “Even if they haven’t fully recovered their health, they are often directed to resume their previous duties. It depends on the circumstances—whether they were taken into custody while fleeing or after surrendering,” a junta-connected source said. The Northeastern RMC in Lashio is a major headquarters overseeing medical, transportation, logistics, and communications battalions as well as infantry, armoured, and construction units. Most of the captured personnel were members of these units. The MNDAA released around 50 prisoners, including police, in October 2025, followed by more than 200 soldiers and police the following month. The TNLA also released more than 100 prisoners, including soldiers, during its 63rd National Liberation Day last week. The Kokang army retained control of rural areas of Lashio Township even after handing over the city and has incorporated those areas into Hsenwi District within Kokang Special Region 1, a territory designated for self-government by the Kokang ethnic community. Ongoing negotiations in Lashio between MNDAA and junta officials have focused primarily on plans to continue releasing prisoners of war.

Kokang army releases more than 80 junta soldiers captured in Lashio

The handover was the third major release of prisoners taken by the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army in 2024, during the group’s seizure of northern Shan State’s largest city and regional military headquarters

Subscribe for full access

The Russian general behind Moscow’s decades-long military courtship of Myanmar

Explainer: Who are the companies and cronies backing Myanmar junta leader’s Thailand visit?

From palace stages to exile: A Myanmar dancer who chose conscience over ceremony

Her parents gone, a Myanmar student prays for the return of a father lost in conflict

Subscribe for full access

Related Articles

Myanmar junta airstrike in Paletwa kills five and injures 17, including children

How Myanmar’s regime turned a Buddhist retreat into a scene of death and destruction

Myanmar military pushes to retake oilfields and cut resistance revenue

Russian companies want majority shares in Myanmar projects