MNDAA hands 41 POWs to Myanmar junta in Lashio amid ongoing talks

The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) handed over 41 prisoners of war to Myanmar’s military junta in the northern Shan State city of Lashio on Tuesday, according to family members of the prisoners and local residents, in the latest exchange linked to regular talks between the two sides. The transfer took place after representatives of the MNDAA, also known as the Kokang Army, and the military met earlier Tuesday at the Two Elephants Hotel in Lashio’s Ward 2, the sources said. Those released included soldiers from the junta’s Northeastern Regional Military Command (RMC) headquarters in Lashio and an officer from Light Infantry Battalion 503, based in nearby Hsipaw, according to a Lashio resident, citing the prisoners’ families. The soldiers were captured during the MNDAA’s seizure of Lashio in August 2024 as part of the second phase of Operation 1027. Residents said a vehicle carrying the released prisoners entered the regime’s Supply and Transport Battalion base in Lashio, where family members of the soldiers were seen waiting. The junta and the MNDAA have held meetings about twice a month at the Two Elephants Hotel, which is located in the portion of Lashio controlled by the military. Under a China-mediated agreement reached after the battle for the city, the two sides each administer roughly half of Lashio Township. Neither the junta nor the MNDAA has disclosed details of Tuesday’s meeting. Sources close to the MNDAA said the junta has repeatedly demanded that the group withdraw from the Hsipaw-Mong Yai road in an effort to secure an exit route from Lashio, but the two sides have yet to reach an agreement. The meeting also likely included discussion of a July 9 rocket attack on junta-controlled areas of Lashio, according to local sources. Four 107mm rockets struck two wards under military administration, killing a 35-year-old woman in Ward 10 near the Northeastern RMC headquarters and slightly injuring another woman in Ward 6. No group claimed responsibility for the attack. The MNDAA and allied forces launched their offensive on Lashio on July 1, 2024, and captured the city on August 3 after weeks of fighting. During the operation, the group captured an estimated 4,000 junta personnel and family members, according to relatives of detainees and resistance fighters. Among those captured were former Northeastern RMC chief Maj.- Gen. Soe Tint, Regional Chief of Staff Brig.-Gen. Thant Htin Soe, and Brig.-Gen. Myo Min Htwe, commander of Military Operations Command 1 based in Kyaukme. Following the MNDAA’s capture of Lashio, China brokered a ceasefire between the two sides. At talks in the Chinese city of Kunming in January 2025, the MNDAA agreed to return 12 wards of Lashio and the Humun village tract to military control while retaining authority over surrounding rural areas, which it incorporated into its Special Region (1) Hsenwi District. The group continues to control villages surrounding Lashio, including the city’s bypass road and the Mong Yai-Hsipaw road, about 40 miles from the city. Residents said the MNDAA has released prisoners during nearly every round of talks since the Kunming agreement. More than 3,000 family members of military personnel and wounded soldiers were released in 2024, including Thant Htin Soe and Myo Min Htwe. However, thousands of military prisoners remain in MNDAA custody, according to relatives of those who have been released. “It’s not just people from the Northeastern Command,” a family member of a released prisoner said. “Those who came to join the operations from other regions and states were also captured. They are kept in Kunlong, Laukkai, and Chin Shwe Haw. Only those in poor health are recorded and released.” Sources with ties to the military said soldiers released by the MNDAA are not permitted to resign from the armed forces and are reassigned to their previous positions after their return.

MNDAA hands 41 POWs to Myanmar junta in Lashio amid ongoing talks

Thousands of prisoners captured during Operation 1027 remain in the group’s custody, according to sources

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