TNLA seizes Manton, takes full control of Palaung region

The Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) captured the town of Manton, northern Shan State on Friday night, completing its takeover of the Palaung Self-Administered Zone from the military junta’s control. According to the military-drafted 2008 Constitution, the Palaung Self-Administered Zone (SAZ) consists of two townships: Manton and Namhsan, the latter of which the TNLA, a Ta’ang ethnic armed organisation, has controlled since December 15. The inclusion of the two townships in the Palaung SAZ effectively designates them as an autonomous area for self-government by the Ta’ang ethnic community, also sometimes called the Palaung people. Sources on the ground said that the TNLA initiated concentrated assaults on the last remaining junta base—manned by junta Infantry Battalion (IB) 130—in Manton on Friday night. By midnight the TNLA had overrun the tactical encampment, which is located near the town of Manton’s entrance gate. TNLA fighters then pursued retreating junta troops until Saturday morning, according to a source who was present during the operation. "The last camp has been captured. But escaped soldiers from the junta's IB 130 are still unaccounted for,” the TNLA-connected source said. Maj.-Gen. Tar Jok Jar, the vice chair of the TNLA, wrote about the takeover of Manton and the Palaung SAZ on his official Facebook page. “Everything for which we felt sorrow about Rukaw Land has been reborn,” he wrote, referring to the captured territory by a Ta’ang name. Weapons and ammunition seized by the TNLA at a junta base in Namhsan. (TNLA) Manton is the third town fully taken over by the TNLA in northern Shan State. The troops encamped at the entrance to Manton had previously and unsuccessfully fought against the TNLA's capture of Namhsan. Manton is the second-largest town in the Palaung SAZ and is located some 20 miles north of Namhsan, the autonomous region’s largest town and administrative seat. It is around 40 miles southwest of Namkham, another town located on the Shweli River near the China-Myanmar border that is now under TNLA control. Manton Township also lies adjacent to Namtu Township, an important area for mining. Manton in 2022 (Facebook) The TNLA had been fighting to take over Manton since November 3, capturing a police station, various regime-controlled administrative offices, and pro-junta militia bases in the township. They also continued to carry out assaults on the IB 130 base east of town, the last position held by the junta forces. According to a TNLA statement issued on Friday, there had been intense fighting in the vicinity of Manton since early that morning, during which the junta air force carried out 13 airstrikes using a fighter jet and 48 using a Y12 plane, launching more than 250 bombs and projectiles. Although they managed to seize Manton that night, the ethnic armed group did not announce the takeover until Saturday. On Sunday, the TNLA issued a third statement, claiming that when they completed their capture of the town two nights before, they had also succeeded in seizing a large cache of weapons, including two howitzers, from the junta’s IB 130 base.

TNLA seizes Manton, takes full control of Palaung region

After capturing the capital of the Palaung Self-Administered Zone last week, the Ta’ang ethnic armed group has now taken full control of a third town in northern Shan State

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