
Thousands of people have reportedly fled the town of Laukkai (Laukkaing) in the Kokang Self-Administered Zone in northern Shan State, fearing that clashes between the military and the Brotherhood Alliance of ethnic armed organisations may be imminent.
The allied resistance forces, including the Ta’ang National Liberation Army, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), and the Arakan Army, have already seized control of the town of Chin Shwe Haw, 15 miles from Laukkai, as well as several other locations in the region, as part of Operation 1027, launched on October 27. To stop the arrival of junta reinforcements, they have also blocked roads, including the national highway connecting Mandalay with the northern Shan State administrative centre of Lashio, and the section which connects Lashio to Laukkai through Hsenwi Township.
Locals estimated that up to 2,000 people had left Laukkai recently, becoming stranded eight miles south of the. . .