MNDAA says it frees 500 junta POWs held during Lashio fighting

The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army said Sunday it had released 500 prisoners of war captured during fighting in northern Shan State, marking one of the largest recent handovers by an ethnic armed group as Myanmar’s civil war grinds on.The prisoners were captured during its takeover of Lashio in northern Shan State in 2023 and 2024, detaining them during fighting under Operation 1027. The detainees were released on the seventh day of the Da Jiao Festival, a Chinese ritual honoring martyr spirits, as a gesture of humanitarian goodwill, the group said.The MNDAA, also known as the Kokang Army, stated that nine prisoners convicted of minor crimes and 500 well-behaved POWs were freed, while 49 other inmates had their sentences reduced. Earlier, more than 80 POWs held in Chin Shwe Haw Town prisons were released on January 14, and now additional prisoners have been freed. A POW’s family member said the prisoners were released because their health had deteriorated while in Kokang Army custody. “The prisoners were fed poorly, receiving only rice and thin bean soup, and had to sleep on concrete floors without adequate bedding,” the source said. “Over time, they grew weak, and most fell ill. The authorities mainly released those who were sick.” Members of Infantry Battalion 129 and their family members sit after surrendering to the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army on November 12, 2023. All 127 soldiers from the unit, including their commander, surrendered as MNDAA forces advanced in northern Shan State. (Photo: The Kokang) In July 2024, the MNDAA and allied forces overran Lashio, a major junta hub in northern Shan State, capturing the military’s Northeastern Command during the second phase of Operation 1027 before the city fell in early August. Those captured included several senior officers along with other troops and more than 4,000 of their family members, the group said. The MNDAA said it released more than 3,000 family members in 2024 and later freed injured or ill soldiers. Families of the released troops said many were subsequently returned to service by the regime. Two Myanmar generals who were freed later resumed senior military posts, while the group separately released hundreds of other prisoners of war in a series of handovers last year.On April 21, 2025, the MNDAA withdrew from Lashio under Chinese pressure, enabling the junta to reclaim 12 urban wards. Lashio, where the junta’s Northeastern Command is based, has 12 urban wards and 87 village tracts. The MNDAA controls all remaining villages in the area, excluding the 12 urban wards, as part of Hseni District Special Region 1.The latest releases come as the conflict continues to fragment control across Myanmar, with resistance groups consolidating territory in several regions despite sustained pressure from the military. While the MNDAA has scaled back its presence in Lashio following Chinese mediation, it retains control over most rural areas in northern Shan State.

MNDAA says it frees 500 junta POWs held during Lashio fighting

The ethnic armed group said the prisoners, captured during fighting in Lashio, were released during a traditional festival honoring the dead

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