Myanmar military retakes key town north of Mandalay after month-long offensive

Regime forces have taken control of Singu, a strategically important town north of Mandalay, after a relentless campaign of airstrikes, shelling, and drone attacks that began nearly a month ago, according to local residents and military sources. The junta launched its push into Singu, which was captured by resistance forces in July of last year, on November 26. Two army columns, advancing from the south with a combined force of more than 400 troops, seized control of the town on Thursday, sources said. “We had to give up Singu. They began entering the town last night, and by this morning they had taken positions across the town,” a resistance source told Myanmar Now on Friday. The same source said junta troops first seized and established positions in Letpan Hla, a village located about four miles south of Singu on the Mandalay–Mogok highway, on Thursday morning before pushing into the town later the same day. Resistance forces said they were forced to withdraw due to the military’s superior firepower and its deployment of a large number of troops on the ground. Much of the town, including its police station and government offices, are now under junta control, residents said. Singu lies about 54 miles north of Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city. By July 17 of last year, all junta bases in Singu Township were under the control of the Mandalay People’s Defence Force and allied forces. According to local residents and military sources, resistance forces began withdrawing from Singu in early November amid an intensifying campaign by the regime to retake the Mandalay–Mogok highway. Singu Township is a largely agricultural area also known for gold mining. Nearly half of the town has been destroyed by fighting and airstrikes, forcing most residents to flee. Thousands of civilians from Madaya, Singu and Thabeikkyin townships have sought refuge in Mandalay, as well as in towns across Sagaing Region and in nearby forests and hills, according to aid workers and local sources. The military has now retaken Madaya, Singu, and Thabeikkyin, all located north of Mandalay along the eastern bank of the Ayeyarwady River. Only Tagaung, a town about 130 miles north of Mandalay, remains outside its control, resistance groups said. Although there have been no ground clashes in Tagaung, it continues to come under heavy attack by junta warplanes, resulting in deaths and injuries among the civilian population, including children, local sources said. The regime, with support from China, has also been reasserting control over Mogok, a famed ruby-mining centre currently held by the Ta’ang National Liberation Army. Resistance fighters warned that if the junta takes full control of the Mandalay–Mogok road, the flow of arms and supplies into resistance-held areas in central Myanmar could be significantly disrupted.

Myanmar military retakes key town north of Mandalay after month-long offensive

Singu, a town that has been under the control of resistance forces for more than a year, is the latest to be recaptured by the regime in recent months

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