Myanmar resistance forces capture another town north of Mandalay

Anti-regime forces under the command of the National Unity Government (NUG) captured Tagaung, a town about 130 miles north of Mandalay, on Monday, according to resistance sources. A combined force of resistance groups launched an attack on junta troops stationed in the town on Monday and captured it within 24 hours, according to the NUG-led Thabeikkyin Township People’s Defence Team (PDT), one of the groups involved. The resistance forces took 20 regime soldiers prisoner and seized more than 30 weapons, a member of the Thabeikkyin PDT told Myanmar Now. “Fighting was extremely intense. There were air raids involving 500-pound bombs. The most intense ground fighting was around the Lay Myat Nar Pagoda,” the Thabeikkyin PDT member said. Major clashes were also reported at the town’s police station, hospital, and general administration office, according to locals. On Tuesday, the Thabeikkyin PDT posted a video on social media showing the resistance forces being welcomed by residents of Tagaung with sprigs of thabyay, or eugenia, traditionally regarded as a symbol of success. Located on the eastern bank of the Ayeyarwady River in Thabeikkyin Township, Tagaung is the second town in Mandalay Region to fall to the resistance since the Mandalay People’s Defence Force (MDY-PDF) captured Singu, some 80 miles to the south, in mid-July. In the weeks prior to Monday’s offensive, resistance forces carried out a series of smaller attacks on junta troops stationed in the town. They also captured a police station in Twin Nge, a village about 30 miles to the south, and an outpost north of the town near the village of Inn Net. Residents of Tagaung greet resistance fighters as they enter the town on August 12 (Thabeikkyin PDT) In late July, anti-junta groups loyal to the NUG also took control of the Chinese-operated Tagaung Taung nickel mine, located on the border between Thabeikkyin Township and Tigyaing Township in Sagaing Region. As the resistance forces strengthened their positions around Tagaung, most residents fled across the Ayeyarwady River or to other safe locations. However, at least one woman was killed by artillery fire in Monday’s fighting, and two other civilians were injured, according to the Thabeikkyin PDT member. The fighting in Mandalay Region is part of an offensive dubbed Operation Shan-Man, which is being carried out by the NUG in tandem with the second phase of Operation 1027, an offensive launched by the Brotherhood Alliance late last year and resumed on June 25 following the collapse of a Chinese-brokered ceasefire. Thabeikkyin Township borders areas captured by the Ta’ang National Liberation Army, a Brotherhood Alliance member, since late June, including Mongmit (Momeik) in Shan State to the east and the ruby-mining town of Mogok in Mandalay Region to the south. Meanwhile, as fighting north of Mandalay intensifies, resistance groups under the command of the NUG have also launched a special operation southwest of Myanmar’s second-largest city in recent days. On Monday, PDF troops captured five junta outposts in Taungtha Township, including one guarding a Chinese-owned oil and gas pipeline, as part of the Myingyan District Special Operation. Myingyan District, which also includes Myingyan and Natogyi townships, is located between Mandalay and Naypyitaw, the regime’s administrative capital. On Tuesday, the regime released a statement saying that its forces were actively countering attacks in Taungtha and had taken measures to increase security in the township.

Myanmar resistance forces capture another town north of Mandalay

Tagaung is the second town in Mandalay Region to fall to anti-regime forces since the start of a new offensive in late June

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