Following months of fierce fighting, Myanmar’s military junta has retaken full control of the strategic town of Nawnghkio, northern Shan State, dealing a major symbolic blow as well as gaining significant ground against the country’s armed resistance to military rule.
Nawnghkio residents and anti-junta fighters confirmed that junta troops had seized control of most of the town by Monday, July 15, including the main market district, key government administrative offices, and police stations.
The regime forces’ advance came after the capture of Nam Hsawng Hu village, just south of the town, by troops from the military’s Divisions 11 and 55 over the weekend.
“This effectively means the whole town is now back under the junta’s control,” one Nawnghkio resident told Myanmar Now. “Once the marketplace fell, it meant they had taken the heart of the town.”
Key neighbourhoods now under full junta control include Tawng ward, Pa Hat ward, and the Zay (market) ward, with reports indicating that fighting has continued on the town’s northern outskirts. Residents say the junta forces inside the town are attempting to link up with troops stationed near Kyauk Kyan village, which is about four miles north of Nawnghkio and the site of the military’s Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 114 and LIB 115 bases.
Nawnghkio had been a major stronghold of the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) since late 2024, when the ethnic armed organisation captured it as part of the broader Operation 1027 offensive carried out by the Brotherhood Alliance.
The Brotherhood Alliance, a tripartite grouping of ethnic armed organisations, was made up of the TNLA as well as the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA)—commonly called the Kokang army—and the Arakan Army (AA). The alliance’s Operation 1027 campaign was backed by the People’s Defence Forces under the command of the anti-junta National Unity Government.
The fall of Nawnghkio follows the junta’s recapture of Lashio, northern Shan State’s largest city, in April and brings the regime forces closer to other TNLA-held towns.
With Nawnghkio under their control, junta forces are better positioned to attempt recapturing Kyaukme and Hsipaw, which are northeast of Nawnghkio on the the Mandalay–Muse highway, a critical economic corridor connecting Myanmar’s heartland to China’s Yunnan Province.
On Tuesday night, pro-junta Telegram channels circulated photos purportedly showing junta troops occupying former TNLA administrative offices in Nawnghkio.
Lway Yay Oo, a spokesperson for the TNLA, could not be reached for comment on the group’s withdrawal from the town.
Meanwhile, the military appears to be tightening its grip on the area, with pro-junta media outlets reporting a wave of arrests and interrogations targeting residents suspected of supporting the TNLA. Troops movements also suggest preparations are underway for further offensives against other resistance-held areas.
On Monday, junta airstrikes on downtown Hsipaw killed at least two civilians and injured several others, according to local reports. Kyaukme has also faced near-daily bombardment.
Data gathered by Myanmar Now indicates that at least 17 civilians, including children, have been killed in northern Shan State and Karenni (Kayah) State since the beginning of June, with dozens more wounded.
Sources within the resistance warn that the fall of Nawnghkio could mark a turning point in the junta’s northern campaign—a calculated effort to reverse the territorial gains made by anti-junta forces during Operation 1027, reassert dominance over vital trade routes, and thwart the momentum of the armed resistance against dictatorship.
