TNLA captures another town in northern Shan State, taking full control of Namtu Township

The Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) has taken full control of Namtu Township in northern Shan State’s Kyaukme District, a source close to the group has confirmed. According to the source, the junta’s last remaining base in the township, located about a mile outside of the town of Namtu and manned by troops from Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 324, fell to the TNLA early Thursday morning. The ethnic armed group has been attacking regime positions in the township since December 20. Namtu, the township’s administrative seat, is located about 40 miles west of Lashio, the largest town in northern Shan State. The LIB 324 base was captured despite days of junta airstrikes and heavy artillery fire that reportedly left at least three civilians in Namtu dead as of Wednesday. The LIB 324 base was captured despite days of junta airstrikes and heavy artillery fire that reportedly left at least three civilians in Namtu dead as of Wednesday. Chinese-made Y-12 military planes and Russian-made Mi-35 attack helicopters were reportedly used during the assaults. A Russian Su-30 fighter jet was also seen. The fall of Namtu to the TNLA comes less than a week after the group captured the administrative seat of Manton Township, one of two townships comprising the Palaung Self-Administered Zone. Namhsan, the main town in the Palaung region, fell to the TNLA a week earlier, and Namkham, a town on the border with China, has been under its complete control since the first week of December. The anti-junta offensive in northern Shan State, begun two months ago by the TNLA and its Brotherhood Alliance allies, has shown no signs of slowing, despite efforts by China to mediate in peace talks between the regime and armed groups opposed to its rule. In an interview with the BBC on Tuesday, Gen Tar Bone Kyaw, the general secretary of the TNLA’s political wing, the Palaung State Liberation Front, said that during a second round of talks, begun last Friday and lasting three days, Chinese representatives pressured the Brotherhood Alliance to halt the fighting. He said, however, that there was no change in his group’s stance calling for the overthrow of the junta that seized power in February 2021. The capture of Namtu—a town best known for its mining industry—means that Lashio, where the junta’s Northeastern Regional Military Command is headquartered, is increasingly surrounded by hostile forces. Fierce fighting has been reported in recent days both north and south of Lashio, which lies on the main road from Mandalay to Muse, a border town that handles most of Myanmar’s cross-border trade with China. The ongoing conflict has brought most trade to a standstill, and has also had a devastating impact on the local population. According to Shwe Phee Myay, a news agency based in northern Shan State, 162 civilians, including 26 children, have been killed and 305 others injured since the start of the Brotherhood Alliance’s Operation 1027 offensive in late October.

TNLA captures another town in northern Shan State, taking full control of Namtu Township

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