Myanmar junta continues attacks in northern Shan State despite ceasefire

Clashes continue in and near Nawnghkio Township in northern Shan State despite the Myanmar military regime’s extension of a temporary post-quake ceasefire until April 30. The Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) claimed that the junta carried out aerial assaults on Ohn Ma Thee, a village about 12 miles southwest of the TNLA-controlled town of Nawnghkio, at around 10:30am on Tuesday. At least five houses were damaged by the junta bombardment, according to a statement from the group’s press team. Junta warplanes frequently target villages along the major trade route between Mandalay and the border town of Muse, particularly those near Bant Bway—one of the regime’s fortified defensive positions in the southernmost part of Nawnghkio Township. Clashes persist in Tawng Hkam, a village around 16 miles south of the town of Nawnghkio, which was captured by the TNLA in July of last year during the second phase of the Operation 1027 offensive. Anti-junta forces led by the Ta’ang army have accused the regime of using chemical weapons during clashes on Monday near its No. 902 artillery command headquarters on the outskirts of Tawng Hkam. On the same day, a column of junta troops was deployed to the area to reinforce the regime’s offensive in Tawng Hkam, a key position in its bid to recapture Nawnghkio. The Danu People’s Liberation Front, a major ally of the TNLA, intercepted the column near Kyauk Gu, a village in southern Shan State’s Lawksawk Township located roughly 30 miles south of Tawng Hkam. At least three junta troops were taken prisoner, according to the ethnic Danu armed group. Regime forces continue to launch attacks on a Ta’ang outpost in Tawng Hkam despite a temporary ceasefire announced on April 2 following the deadly earthquake that killed more than 3,700 people on March 28. A day before the regime announced the ceasefire, junta troops opened fire on a Chinese Red Cross relief convoy as it passed through Ohn Ma Thee, the village that was attacked on Tuesday. The TNLA has faced pressure from China to negotiate a ceasefire deal with the regime, but talks held in mid-February ended without any agreement. A second meeting will likely take place in May, according to the TNLA’s press team. The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), a close ally of the TNLA, has recently completed its handover of Lashio, northern Shan State’s largest city, to the military regime under an agreement brokered by China. A junta convoy of 70 vehicles entered Lashio on Tuesday morning, following the arrival of a Chinese ceasefire monitoring team over the weekend, local sources said. During the first phase of Operation 1027, an offensive launched by the TNLA, MNDAA, and Arakan Army in late 2023, the Ta’ang army captured Namhsan, Namkham, Mangton, Namtu, Kutkai, Monglon, and Mongngawt townships in northern Shan State. Following the collapse of a Chinese-brokered ceasefire in mid-2024, the group went on to take control of five more towns—Kyaukme, Nawnghkio, Mongmit, and Hsipaw in northern Shan State, and Mogok, a ruby mining town in Mandalay Region.

Myanmar junta continues attacks in northern Shan State despite ceasefire

An airstrike on Tuesday targeted a village in Nawnghkio Township where junta forces fired on Chinese aid workers earlier this month

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