Myanmar military steps up air, artillery assaults as TNLA fights for control of Kutkai

Junta airstrikes and heavy shelling were reported in northern Shan State late Tuesday evening as the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) continued its push for control of the town of Kutkai. According to the group and other sources in the area, both Kutkai and Namtu—which was captured by the TNLA late last month—were targeted in the attacks. The Ta’ang Women’s Organisation (TWO), which has been monitoring the current conflict since it started just over two months ago, said that regime fighter jets dropped 500-pound bombs on the towns. Details regarding civilian casualties were not available due to the collapse of communications in the area, the group added. On Monday, junta aerial bombardment killed one civilian and injured three others in Hway Koke, a village in Kutkai Township, according to the TNLA’s information team. Other reports appearing on social media claimed that at least 10 people have been injured in the township in recent days. Myanmar Now has been unable to independently verify these claims. The TNLA, which is part of the Brotherhood Alliance of ethnic armed groups that has been waging an offensive against Myanmar’s military since late October, said that its efforts to seize control of Kutkai have made steady progress since December 31. Kutkai, which is located northeast of Namtu on the road between northern Shan State’s largest city, Lashio, and the important border town of Muse, is now largely under TNLA control, according to Tar Aik Kyaw, the group’s spokesperson. However, clashes continue to rage in two locations, he told Myanmar Now. “We are still fighting near a key military base and around a hilltop pagoda in the centre of town controlled by junta troops. They have been carrying out air and artillery strikes on the downtown area,” he said. He added that fighting in Kutkai’s downtown core began four days ago after the TNLA successfully overran four camps in and around the town, including one operated by a pro-junta militia. On Sunday, the group captured Mongngawt, southwest of Namtu. Residents of the town say it has since been targeted by indiscriminate shelling, which has also been reported in Lashio and Hsenwi townships. On Sunday, a strategic bridge linking Namtu to Lashio—where the headquarters of the junta’s Northeastern Regional Military Command is located—was damaged by junta troops, according to the TNLA. Two days earlier, a bridge between Namtu and Hsipaw was also destroyed after Namtu fell to the TNLA on December 28. The TNLA now controls a total of six towns in northern Shan State, while its allies, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army and the Arakan Army, have also captured a number of key towns in their respective territories. Since the start of the Brotherhood Alliance’s Operation 1027 offensive on October 27, armed groups in other parts of the country have also stepped up their attacks on regime targets. In Chin State, resistance fighters have captured a number of towns along Myanmar’s border with India. The TWO estimates that as of December 25, junta shelling and airstrikes have killed at least 96 civilians and injured another 169 in 14 townships in northern Shan State.

Myanmar military steps up air, artillery assaults as TNLA fights for control of Kutkai

The attacks come as the ethnic armed group says it is close to capturing the key town between northern Shan State’s largest city and its most important border crossing

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