Myanmar’s military carried out airstrikes against two ethnic armed groups based in northern Shan State late last week, days after an attack on a junta-controlled ward administration office in the region.
The two groups—the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), or Kokang Army—were both targeted near the town of Lashio on Thursday afternoon, sources there said.
At around 2pm, TNLA troops stationed near Namlawng, a village located about 10 miles from Lashio, came under fire from an Mi-35 helicopter gunship for about 20 minutes.
Soldiers from the military’s Light Infantry Battalion 16 and Infantry Battalion 68 then launched a ground assault that triggered around four hours of fighting, according to the TNLA’s information department.
Myanmar Now was unable to independently confirm the group’s claims that the regime’s forces suffered multiple casualties in the exchange of fire.
Fierce fighting was also reported near Namlawng the previous afternoon. The village has been uninhabited since late last year due to the ongoing conflict in the area.
Meanwhile, the MNDAA also came under attack from a helicopter gunship and ground forces near Hopeik, a village just outside of Lashio, on Thursday, according to locals.
“We could hear heavy weapons going off from time to time. It went on for quite a while, but there was no damage in the village,” said a Hopeik resident who did not wish to be named.
Locals say the junta has been conducting frequent aerial attacks against MNDAA forces near Hopeik since the beginning of the year. Myanmar Now was unable to reach the group’s spokesperson for comment on the latest attack.
Both incidents took place in the Mong Yaw area east of Lashio, where a number of armed groups are active. In addition to the TNLA, the MNDAA, and their ally, the Arakan Army (AA), the Shan State Progress Party/Shan State Army also has a presence there.
The latest attacks come after the military vowed to take “necessary action” last week following a TNLA raid on a ward administration office in the northern Shan State town of Kyaukme on August 6.
On July 18, the MNDAA also carried out an attack near the village of Mangan in Lashio Township, reportedly killing five junta soldiers patrolling the area.
The junta has escalated its offensive operations in northern Shan State since June, resulting in an increase in the number of clashes.
The TNLA alone has reported the outbreak of 11 serious battles between July 23 and August 10, which it claimed had left 25 junta soldiers dead and another 27 injured.
There have also been civilian casualties. According to the Shan Human Rights Foundation, junta air raids and heavy artillery fire killed at least five civilians and injured another nine in the last week of July and first week of August.
Speaking to Myanmar Now early last week, TNLA spokesperson Lt-Col Tar Eik Kyaw said that the fighting would likely intensify as the military continues its offensives.
On June 1, the TNLA, MNDAA, and AA took part in Chinese-sponsored talks with the regime in the eastern Shan State town of Mongla. However, the talks ended early after battles broke out in Lashio and other Shan State townships on June 2.
