Tensions high as TNLA closes Kokang army offices in Kutkai

The Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) has forcibly closed the offices of its ethnic Kokang ally in the northern Shan State town of Kutkai following a dispute over the installation of surveillance cameras, according to local sources. Residents said the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) began installing the cameras on the town’s streets at the beginning of this month, creating friction between the two groups, which share joint authority in Kutkai. The Kokang forces said the cameras were needed to prevent crime during the Chinese New Year period, but the TNLA insisted that they be removed, as they could be used to track their activities. These tensions came to a head on February 13, when gunfire erupted during a TNLA raid on an MNDAA office, according to a Kutkai resident. “When the TNLA surrounded the Kokang office, some shots were fired. The problem became much bigger then. It was no longer possible to negotiate. It turned into the two sides hitting and beating each other,” the resident told Myanmar Now. One TNLA member was hit by a bullet in the leg, and five others from both sides were injured in the brawling, sources said. Two days later, the TNLA closed the remaining MNDAA offices in Kutkai and took full control of the town. Since then, the Kokang armed group has tightened inspections at checkpoints on the road from Lashio to Hsenwi, a town under its control on the way to Kutkai, and sent reinforcements to within 10 miles of Kutkai. In addition to Hsenwi, which is roughly 16 miles south of Kutkai, the MNDAA also controls Tamoenye, a small town about the same distance to the northeast. The TNLA and the MNDAA are both members of the Brotherhood Alliance, which launched Operation 1027, a major anti-junta offensive, in October 2023. The TNLA captured Kutkai early the following year, but the town is located in an area with a strong MNDAA presence. Both groups have since shared responsibility for its administration. The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) also has troops in the area and maintains a liaison office in Kutkai. Tensions among all three groups have been reported in the past, including a brawl in December 2024 that followed the MNDAA’s destruction of a camp in Kutkai Township operated by a militia affiliated with the KIA. In March of last year, the TNLA ordered staff at the KIA office in Kutkai to leave after KIA troops tried to enter the town. In the same month, a member of the KIA was among six people killed when MNDAA forces opened fire on locals opposed to a gold mine in eastern Kutkai Township. The next month, TNLA police were beaten by their MNDAA counterparts for attempting to stop members of the Kokang armed group from soliciting donations for victims of last year’s deadly earthquake in central Myanmar. Some of the tension has been attributed to the MNDAA’s appointment of Kyin San, a local militia leader with ties to Myanmar’s military, as the deputy district head for Kutkai. “Since [Kyin San’s] people are included in the Kokang police force, this matter could also be involved in the friction between the allies,” another Kutkai resident noted. Neither organisation has released a statement regarding the recent conflict, but a source close to senior TNLA officials said that leaders of both forces are negotiating to resolve the issue.

Tensions high as TNLA closes Kokang army offices in Kutkai

The allied ethnic armed groups have maintained an uneasy peace in the northern Shan State town since capturing it two years ago

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