Anti-junta forces are expecting a counterattack after pushing the Myanmar military out of the village of Kan Gyi, Nawnghkio Township in a fierce battle that began last week, local sources said.
Since regime forces launched an all-out offensive in February, fighting has intensified in areas controlled by the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) in Nawnghkio Township, which is less than 50 miles from Mandalay and just over 30 miles east of the military’s premier officer training academies in Pyin Oo Lwin (formerly Maymyo), Mandalay Region.
Although the junta forces managed to establish a foothold last Thursday in Kan Gyi village, Nawnghkio Township, the TNLA regained control of the village in a counterattack on Sunday, according to locals.
Fighters of the ethnic armed organisation Danu People’s Liberation Army (DPLA), as well as the People’s Defence Forces (PDF) commanded by the National Unity Government (NUG), have also reportedly taken part in the battles on the TNLA’s side.
“When the army reached Kan Gyi, news came out that the resistance forces would counterattack in two days. Yesterday they were able to take back control,” a local resident said on Monday.
The counterattack forced the junta troops to withdraw from Kan Gyi, according to other locals. According to local residents, the junta troops whom anti-junta fighters had pushed out of Kan Gyi are now preparing another attack to retake the village.
When asked about the situation on the battlefield, TNLA spokespersons only answered that they had received too little information to comment.
During the battle that forced the military out of Kan Gyi, the regime troops relied heavily on the use of heavy artillery and drones, according to an anti-junta fighter familiar with the state of battle.
“The army was within range of the town, so they kept firing with heavy weapons. They use them with the attitude that it’s alright if they can take the town, but if it gets destroyed instead, so be it,” the fighter said.
Before withdrawing from Kan Gyi, the military had launched more than 10 heavy artillery rounds at Nawnghkio Township’s urban centre on Friday, the fighter added, and shells had landed and detonated in the Zay and Bu Tar wards, injuring a 37-year-old man.
After the bombardment, residents of Nawnghkio who had not yet been unable to flee, as well as residents of nearby villages, left to seek refuge in Kyaukme.
“Right now, at the Nawng Ping village high school in Kyaukme Township, there are over a thousand displaced people from Nawnghkio. There are also some at other monasteries. Some have also fled to the town of Kyaukme. In total, there are about five thousand,” said a Kyaukme resident helping the displaced.
Volunteers helping displaced people said it was proving difficult to provide adequate aid because of a shortfall in donations as well as roadblocks restricting the transport of supplies.
The military council has imposed a news blackout on all combat operations in the country. However, supporters of the military regime have continued to post about the battles in online propaganda channels, claiming junta forces are still engaged in the offensive to recapture Nawnghkio.
The TNLA had captured most of the territory in Nawnghkio Township, which has a population of about 140,000, by June of last year.
In February of this year, junta forces launched a counteroffensive against the TNLA around Tawng Hkam village in southern Nawnghkio Township.
Their aim was to retake territories seized by the Ta’ang armed organisation during Operation 1027, a sweeping offensive campaign carried out by an alliance of anti-junta ethnic armed groups from 2023 to 2024.
Junta troops from the Light Infantry Battalions 212 and 213, under the command of Light Infantry Division 11, have been leading the offensive from Nawnghkio Township’s Yar Pyin village, between Nawnghkio and Tawng Hkam.
During Operation 1027, which occurred in two phases, the TNLA and its allies captured the town of Mogok in Mandalay Region, as well as the northern Shan State towns of Kutkai, Kyaukme, Hsipaw, Manton, Monglon, Mongmit, Mongngawt, Namkham, Namhsan, Namtu, and Nawnghkio.
In addition to its proximity to the officer training schools in Pyin Oo Lwin, Nawnghkio has strategic importance due to its location in an important route for the China-Myanmar border trade.
Under pressure from China, the TNLA took part in negotiations with the military junta in China’s Yunnan Province from April 28 to 29. However, the talks stalled when the Ta’ang armed group rejected the junta’s demand to withdraw from five towns under its control: Kyaukme, Hsipaw, Nawnghkio, Mogok, and Mongmit.
Since then, the TNLA has maintained in public statements that it will not relinquish control of these towns. The negotiations are scheduled to restart in August.
