Villagers told to flee as clashes intensify along Thabeikkyin-Mogok road

Residents of villages east of the Mandalay Region town of Thabeikkyin say they have been told to flee their homes as junta forces continue their march to the ruby-mining centre of Mogok after seizing a resistance-held village earlier this week. Anti-regime groups issued the evacuation order following their withdrawal from Lan Lal Kyit, a village located less than 10 miles east of Thabeikkyin, on Monday, according to a local man. “Now that [the military] has taken Lan Lal Kyit, they’re using heavy weapons and airstrikes to push on,” the man said, adding that residents were given until 6am on Wednesday to evacuate. Two villages located southeast of Lan Lal Kyit—Zayat Kwin and Kyauk Hpar—have both come under increasingly heavy fire in recent days, according to a resistance fighter active in the area. On Sunday, junta airstrikes targeting Kyauk Hpar killed four civilians and injured at least 10 others. A photo shared on pro-regime social media accounts shows bunkers built by resistance forces in Lan Lal Kyit in Mandalay Region’s Thabeikkyin Township “Clashes are intense all along the Thabeikkyin-Mogok road. They desperately want to take the road, so they’re pushing forward aggressively. But we’re fighting back, too,” the resistance fighter told Myanmar Now. He added that the regime has so far been unable to retake the road’s key Phawtaw junction, despite continuous bombing. However, pro-junta social media accounts claim that the military has already taken control of the junction, which connects the Thabeikkyin-Mogok road with the highway to Mandalay. Myanmar’s military recaptured the town of Thabeikkyin, on the eastern bank of the Ayeyarwady River, in late July, nearly a year after it was seized by resistance forces under the command of the National Unity Government. The regime has since attempted to extend its control east to Mogok, which was captured by the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) in July of last year. Junta forces have also been advancing on Mogok from the northern Shan State town of Nawnghkio to the south. Nawnghkio was also under TNLA control until it was recaptured by the regime in July.

Villagers told to flee as clashes intensify along Thabeikkyin-Mogok road

Regime forces are continuing their push to retake the road after capturing a resistance-held village east of Thabeikkyin on Monday

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