Shanni fighters captured during clashes north of Banmauk

Resistance fighters say they captured at least two members of the Shanni Nationalities Army (SNA), an ethnic armed group fighting alongside junta troops, during clashes in Sagaing Region’s Banmauk Township earlier this week. The fighting occurred on Tuesday near Hkamoe, a village about two and a half miles north of the town of Banmauk, a resistance source told Myanmar Now. “In the September 23 clash, we took some wounded SNA troops prisoner. We have a record of two being arrested, but I don’t know how many there were altogether,” the source said on Thursday. “The two I know about had full sets of weapons. They are currently being given medical treatment,” he added. Last Saturday, allied armed groups under the command of the National Unity Government (NUG) took control of the town of Banmauk after five days of fighting. Since then, resistance forces have pursued SNA troops who had occupied Banmauk to positions around the town, including in Hkamoe. The village is located on the road to Zalone Mountain, a well-known pilgrimage site about eight miles north of Banmauk. The site was closed by the junta in 2022 due to armed clashes, but reopened in January of this year. SNA troops are currently believed to have defensive positions in the area. Banmauk is located near the border with Kachin State, about 30 miles northwest of Indaw, a town that was captured by NUG-led forces in April. During the fight for control of Banmauk, the regime carried out at least 10 airstrikes and also conducted attacks with drones and artillery, according to resistance sources. Seven troops from the junta-led side, including an SNA officer, were killed, as were six resistance fighters, the NUG’s Military Region 1 command said in a statement.

Shanni fighters captured during clashes north of Banmauk

The Shanni Nationalities Army, an ethnic armed group aligned with Myanmar’s military, lost control of the town in northern Sagaing Region last weekend

Subscribe for full access

‘We cannot write as before’: Women poets of Myanmar’s Spring Revolution

Sent to die: Myanmar’s conscripts caught between a junta’s war and a nation’s collapse

Magway emerges as key front in junta’s strategy to claw back control of western Myanmar

Beyond the iron bars: Into a broader world of confinement

Subscribe for full access

Related Articles

Myanmar regime launches naval assault on Rakhine coastal town, injuring six civilians

Myanmar FM to meet ASEAN ministers in Bangkok on Sunday: Hanoi

Myanmar junta says it has taken full control of key Sagaing trade route

Intense clashes reported south of Myawaddy, as Myanmar junta launches new offensive