Myanmar military imposing intrusive searches on fleeing Mogok civilians

As thousands flee Mogok, Mandalay Region ahead of an anticipated takeover by the Myanmar military, many are reporting that junta personnel have subjected them to threats and intrusive searches on the road. In Chinese-brokered ceasefire talks between regime officials and the ethnic armed group Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA)—which has held the town for more than a year—the TNLA agreed on October 29 to return control of Mogok and the nearby town of Mongmit, northern Shan State to the military. As many as 60 percent of Mogok’s remaining inhabitants have fled the town, which is reputedly home to many anti-junta resistance sympathisers. Most of the displaced civilians plan to relocate to Mandalay ahead of the TNLA’s anticipated departure from the town by November 25. Despite the TNLA’s agreement to withdraw its fighters, other anti-junta resistance forces commanded by the publicly mandated National Unity Government (NUG) have vowed to stand their ground in Mogok, prompting fear among locals that the junta would respond with airstrikes or troop deployments. Although high travel costs and other difficulties initially deterred many of Mogok’s residents from leaving the town, most nonetheless felt forced to abandon their homes within two weeks of the TNLA announcing the agreement. The military junta has deployed troops south and west of the city and on the roads to the city of Mandalay and Sagaing Region—two of the few routes still open to fleeing civilians after clashes near Mandalay Region’s Madaya Township made the road to Thabeikkyin inaccessible. Some have also fled in the direction of Lashio and Muse, northern Shan State. Displaced Mogok residents have reported threats, abuse, and invasive searches at road checkpoints manned by junta personnel. “The inspections are extremely intrusive. They go through every bag and check ID cards, especially seeming to target young people,” said a 45-year-old bus driver transporting displaced people to Mandalay. “Everyone has to get off the bus and explain in detail where they are coming from and going. This happens at every junta checkpoint from Kyaukme to Pyin Oo Lwin,” he added. “The Kyaukme checkpoint is the worst. The inspections at the town entrance are extremely harsh.” The military regime has imposed strict security measures on the route running through Kyaukme, Nawnghkio, and Pyin Oo Lwin since recapturing the former two towns from anti-junta forces in a counteroffensive earlier this year. “We’ve heard that the inspections are very harsh and that men aged 18 to 35 are being forcibly conscripted,” said a source connected to anti-junta forces in the area, who confirmed that inhabitants of Mogok were fleeing the town on a massive scale. Myanmar Now has not independently verified the claim that military personnel at the checkpoints are coercing young civilians into military service. Bus fares on the Mogok–Mandalay route have surged from around 500,000 kyat (US $124) per ticket in early November to between 800,000 and 1m kyat (US $198 and $248) in recent days, with a limit of one backpack-sized piece of luggage for each customer. As of November 12, fares on the Mogok-Kyaukme route range between 200,000 and 400,000 kyat (US $49.50 and $100), according to the local northern Shan State outlet Shwe Phee Myay News Agency. The same outlet reported that the administrative apparatus installed by the TNLA in Mogok will continue operating until November 20. Within the township, which is a hub for mining rubies and other gemstones, civilians will be able to continue small-scale mining in designated areas with permits granted by the TNLA administration. The TNLA’s liaison office will remain open in the town while troops withdraw, a TNLA source confirmed to Myanmar Now on November 10. Earlier this year, the TNLA’s sometime ally the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army handed over northern Shan State’s capital, Lashio, to the Myanmar military. As with the transition to junta control in Lashio, the military regime has already begun to assign its own administrative staff to the town in advance, according to junta officials. Ethnic discrimination in searches The checkpoint inspections have reportedly singled out members of ethnic minorities from Mandalay Region, in particular people of Ta’ang (also called Palaung) ethnicity—designated by an identification number beginning with 9—often threatened and turned back more frequently, a local source said. “They ask, ‘Which of you hailed the resistance forces with Eugenia stems?’ and ‘Who among you banged your pots and pans at night?’,” the source said, referring to popular public gestures of opposition to military rule. “‘Who’s crawling back under military protection after demonstrating?’” The source added, “People have also told us the soldiers say, ‘It’s a good thing you’ve fled Mogok, because we’re going to pound it into dust’.” Ethnic profiling by junta troops is reportedly common. Civilians who had passed through an x-ray checkpoint between Nawnghkio and Pyin Oo Lwin told Myanmar Now in September that the junta personnel were singling out natives of northern Shan State for searches and extorting bribes from them. They reportedly forced passengers who were not fluent in Burmese—including people of Kokang, Wa, and Palaung ethnicity—out of their vehicles for more extensive searches or to solicit bribes. The TNLA, with support from allied anti-junta resistance forces such as the People’s Liberation Army and NUG-commanded People’s Defence Forces, captured Mogok in July 2024, during the second phase of the broad-based anti-junta offensive campaign Operation 1027. During this offensive, the TNLA and its allies took control of the Pyidaungsu Highway, an important route for the China-Myanmar border trade running from Mandalay to Muse. When the Myanmar military launched a counteroffensive in 2025, one of its strategic priorities was to recapture and secure this route. Junta forces promptly established checkpoints on the highway after recapturing the towns of Nawnghkio, Kyaukme, and Hsipaw from the TNLA.

Myanmar military imposing intrusive searches on fleeing Mogok civilians

Regime personnel have subjected people displaced from Mogok, whom they suspect of sympathising with the anti-junta resistance, to invasive inspections on various routes away from the town

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