Myanmar junta captures resistance bases in Shan State’s Nyaungshwe Township

A combined force of Myanmar junta troops and members of the Pa-O National Army (PNA) seized control of two resistance bases in southern Shan State’s Nyaungshwe Township earlier this week, according to local sources. The bases, located in the villages of Hpa Yar Taung and Ye Pu, fell after they came under attack from more than a thousand regime and PNA soldiers on Monday, the sources said. “They fired heavy artillery continuously, two to three rounds per minute. They fired more than a hundred rounds. The other side couldn’t withstand it and had to retreat,” a local man familiar with the situation told Myanmar Now. According to the man, the bases belonged to the Karenni Nationalities Defence Force and the Inle People’s Defence Force. At least six houses were burned down in the two villages after the bases were captured, he added. Nyaungshwe Township is located between the Shan State capital Taunggyi to the north and Pekhon Township, bordering Karenni (Kayah) State, to the south. Recent fighting in the area is believed to be part of a junta offensive aimed at retaking the town of Moebye, located on the Karenni border in Pekhon Township. The villages attacked on Monday have already faced extensive pressure from the regime, including drone attacks that were reported in late March and early April. According to a woman from Ye Pu, the village is now completely deserted except for junta and PNA troops. “There weren’t many people left in the village to begin with. Everyone has been war-displaced for a long time. Now that the army has retaken it, they’re using it to take their offensive to other villages in the area,” she said. “People who have heard that their villages will be next have already fled,” she added. According to the Shan South Region (1) of the People’s Defence Force, regime forces have been attacking villages between Nyaungshwe and Pekhon since May 6, resulting in daily battles. While the PNA did not respond to requests for information about the capture of the resistance bases in Hpa Yar Taung and Ye Pu, the group’s social media accounts reported that both villages were now under their control. In January 2024, intense fighting near Ye Pu and Hpa Yar Taung left three people, including two children, dead and 16 others injured. The PNA is an ethnic Pa-O armed group aligned with Myanmar’s military. In a statement released on Sunday, a rival Pa-O group, the Pa-O National Liberation Army, accused junta soldiers of executing five of its members in January after taking them prisoner.

Myanmar junta captures resistance bases in Shan State’s Nyaungshwe Township

Regime and allied Pa-O forces seized the bases on Monday as part of a push to reclaim territory in areas bordering Karenni State

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