Military, SNA recapture Banmauk neighbourhoods held by resistance for months

Junta forces and allied members of the Shanni Nationalities Army (SNA) have retook two wards in Banmauk, Sagaing Region from resistance forces on Sunday after almost a week of heavy fighting, according to locals. The troops and allied fighters launched an offensive earlier this month, pushing into the town from the west with the help of artillery, air support, and drone strikes, Banmauk residents said. They regained full control of Hlae Sin Gone and Mya Nan Dar wards on Sunday, forcing resistance fighters to retreat towards the east, according to a man connected to the anti-junta forces. “They began moving in about a week ago, and there was fighting every day. They managed to retake the wards on January 18,” he said. Local sources said the resistance fighters were outgunned, citing an insufficiency of ammunition and heavy weaponry needed to counter the junta’s aerial bombardments and drones. “There were simply not enough arms and ammunition on [the resistance] side, and their numbers and firepower were overwhelming,” a local resident said. During clashes in Mya Nan Dar ward, three members of the People’s Defence Forces (PDF) were captured at a monastery compound and later killed, the resident added. Myanmar Now has not been able to verify the claim independently. A military supply helicopter was seen arriving in western Banmauk on Sunday to drop off rations and ammunition, according to local accounts. As of Monday morning, fighting had subsided, but both sides remained entrenched in the area, raising fears of renewed clashes. Banmauk had been under the control of resistance forces since September 2025, when units commanded by the National Unity Government and allied groups seized the gold- and timber-producing town. The capture occurred after days of fighting that drove SNA units and junta troops out of the town’s urban wards and into nearby villages to the west. At the time, resistance commanders said controlling Banmauk was strategically important for blocking the military’s access into Kachin State, a longtime stronghold of the anti-junta Kachin Independence Army (KIA). They warned, however, that they expected counteroffensives by the junta and its allies in the SNA. Local sources said the latest offensive was carried out by troops from the military’s Light Infantry Division 77, though the bulk of the attacking force is made up of SNA units, particularly from brigades 614 and 972. The SNA, which previously fought both the Myanmar military and the KIA before the 2021 coup, has grown closer to the Myanmar military since the takeover and has taken part in joint operations against resistance forces across northern Sagaing Region and parts of Kachin State. The group is active alongside the military in areas including Hkamti, Homalin, Banmauk, Wuntho and Indaw in Sagaing Region, as well as Mohnyin, Indawgyi and the Hpakant-Sezin area of Kachin State, according to local residents and resistance sources. Following repeated offensives against junta positions, the armed resistance currently controls several towns and large villages in Sagaing Region, including Indaw, Maw Luu in Indaw Township, Pinlebu, Khampat, Myothit in Tamu Township, and Shwe Pyi Aye in Homalin Township.

Military, SNA recapture Banmauk neighbourhoods held by resistance for months

The Shanni Nationalities Army, an ethnic armed group allied with the Myanmar junta, fought alongside the military for more than a week to retake two urban wards in northern Sagaing Region

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