Myanmar air force continues bombing Nawnghkio as ceasefire talks stall

Negotiations between the Myanmar military and Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), mediated by the Chinese government, hit a deadlock this week as the military’s airstrikes on Nawnghkio Township, northern Shan State continued. With the talks in China’s Yunnan Province at an impasse, the parties agreed to reconvene in April, the TNLA’s spokespersons said. Near the same time, the military regime’s air force targeted a hospital and residential areas in bombing raids on the TNLA-controlled town of Nawnghkio on Wednesday around 8pm, killing at least three people and injuring four, according to the TNLA. “My father said bombs landed on Nawnghkio Hospital and in two other places, near a school and a bank,” a displaced woman from Nawnghkio said. The lives of residents remaining in Nawnghkio have been devastated by junta airstrikes.The TNLA, also commonly called the Ta’ang army, has also cut off or severely restricted internet and phone communications in the town to control the spread of sensitive information. “I’m deeply concerned for my parents,” said the displaced woman, who is in her 20s. “They are still staying in their house, which was damaged by junta airstrikes last year.” Nearly every house in the town’s centre is now badly damaged or demolished by the military’s constant, intense airstrikes, local sources said. The town of Nawnghkio, located around 35 miles northeast of the garrison town of Pyin Oo Lwin, fell under the control of the TNLA in mid-August, but fighting is ongoing in the township’s southern outskirts. After capturing Nawnghkio, the Ta’ang ethnic armed group led anti-regime forces in further attacks on junta bases near Tawng Hkam village, around 18 miles to the south. At least nine people were killed in January when a junta warplane bombed a police station and an administrative office in Nawnghkio’s urban wards, according to the TNLA. The military regime also bombed the TNLA-held ruby-mining town of Mogok, Mandalay Region on February 10, killing at least five people and wounding 19 others. The junta has also reportedly concentrated more of its ground forces in southern Nawnghkio Township, blocking roads and inducing residents to flee their homes. Virtually all the inhabitants of Bant Bway village, around 13 miles southwest of Nawnghkio, were unable to return to their homes after being displaced last year. “The soldiers won’t allow us to return to our village. They said they will shoot anyone who tries to enter,” a displaced man from Bant Bway said.

Myanmar air force continues bombing Nawnghkio as ceasefire talks stall

Ta’ang National Liberation Army forces have continued to fight the military in Nawnghkio Township even while its leaders met with junta officials at China’s urging to negotiate a truce

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