Fighting broke out between the Myanmar army and allied forces belonging to the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and the Mandalay People’s Defence Force (MDY-PDF) along a critical highway in Nawnghkio Township, northern Shan State, on Monday.
The TNLA and MDY-PDF, which were positioned near Hsam Ma Hse, Ohn Ma Thee, and Ong Ma Hkar villages, clashed with a junta convoy coming from neighbouring Pyin Oo Lwin in Mandalay. The fighting started as the vehicles neared Shwe Nyaung Pin, which is located between Ohn Ma Thee and Ong Ma Hkar, and two miles southeast of Hsam Ma Hse.
All of the villages are located on or around the national highway that connects Mandalay to Lashio in northern Shan State and passes through Nawnghkio. Resistance forces recently warned civilians against travel along the route, as they target military reinforcements and supplies using the road.
The military reportedly deployed artillery fire and airstrikes around the area during Monday’s clash.
“Battles usually start at dawn. A battle took place this morning, too,” a local told Myanmar Now on Monday, confirming the convoy’s arrival in Shwe Nyaung Pin and the presence of military aircraft in the area.
The junta unit travelled in 10 standard army trucks, two armoured vehicles, and two car haulers.
The TNLA’s information department announced that the group attacked the military near the Goteik viaduct and Shwe Nyaung Pin at around 9am that day. It also reported fierce battles on Sunday, in which the junta carried out airstrikes and fired some 50 rounds of heavy artillery, some of which exploded in Hsam Ma Hse village, the group said.
There were junta casualties, according to the TNLA, but no further details were provided. The MDY-PDF claimed two soldiers who were captured alive days earlier during previous clashes were given medical treatment.
Myanmar Now was unable to independently verify reports of casualties or prisoners, and could not reach either the TNLA or MDY-PDF for further comment at the time of reporting.
The Brotherhood Alliance, consisting of the TNLA, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), and the Arakan Army launched a major offensive called Operation 1027 on October 27, named for its start date. The alliance says it has seized more than 120 junta bases and outposts—a claim rejected by the military council—and captured more than 100 prisoners of war.
The MNDAA has urged the public to adhere to the ban on using the Mandalay-Lashio highway while Operation 1027 is in effect.
“The military council is trying to reinforce its troops along the road,” he said. “Sometimes, the reinforcements don’t come in military vehicles, they come in convoys of civilians. It will be difficult for us to distinguish between civilian and military council vehicles pretending to pass as civilian vehicles. We are afraid that this will become a bad situation. That’s why I want to make this appeal.”
On Monday, the TNLA claimed it had taken control of nearly all of Namkham town, located in northern Shan State and near the Chinese border, while the MNDAA has continued to strike junta bases around the town of Mongko (Monekoe), located outside of the trading hub of Muse, to the northeast.
Resistance forces have launched assaults against the military in Myanmar’s central and northern areas at the same time as Operation 1027 and took control of the district seat of Kawlin in Sagaing Region this week.
