Villages west of Mogok evacuated in anticipation of junta assaults

Ahead of expected attacks by junta troops stationed in Mogok, civilians are fleeing from nearby resistance-held villages into the town’s urban wards as well as safer areas outside of Mogok Township, local sources said. Resistance forces operating inside the ruby-mining town withdrew to villages west of the town late last year after the ethnic armed group Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) reached a Chinese-brokered ceasefire with the Myanmar military regime, agreeing to relinquish control of the town to regime forces without a fight in late November 2025. The resistance fighters, who were not party to the ceasefire, vowed to continue fighting against the Myanmar military in Mogok and its surroundings. With junta attacks expected imminently, villagers living where the resistance forces withdrew said they are now preparing to flee. “There have been warnings to move out of there over the next few days,” a civilian resident of Mogok said, referring to the resistance-held villages. “News has come out that the army is planning to send a column of ground troops and drop bombs, so villagers have already started coming down into the town.” Some of the displaced villagers in Mogok have found homes to rent temporarily while others are staying at relatives’ homes in the town. “It has been about three days now that the villagers have been coming down. Now they are renting houses in the city, and there are also some staying with relatives,” a resident of the east side of Mogok said. “But because of the inconvenience of renting, some are now preparing to move on to other towns.” Less than two months after the Myanmar junta regained control of Mogok in Mandalay Region—as well as the neighbouring township of Mongmit (Momeik), northern Shan State—the junta began reassigning civil service staff to Mogok, planning to resume administrative functions in the town. These efforts were not completely successful, according to residents, with some offices unable to resume their duties at the same capacity as before. However, the administrators under the junta’s health and immigration ministries seem to be operating normally, Mogok residents said. However, People’s Defence Forces (PDF) commanded by the National Unity Government have fended off the military’s attempts to advance into the villages west of town, inflicting heavy losses on junta troops, according to local residents. The resistance forces continued to maintain full control west of the town until the middle of this month, locals said. In response, the military has blocked roads west of Mogok, forcing the villagers fleeing their homes to take a detour via Mongmit Township to reach the town from the north. “From Mogok, you can’t go past Ohn Gaing,” another Mogok Township resident said. “The junta has closed off the route. It is very difficult for people from the upper villages to flee.” Junta retakes road from Mongmit The junta’s capture of sections of the Mongmit-Twin Nge road finally broke the resistance’s hold earlier this week, with some NUG-commanded fighters saying they had to withdraw from villages around Mogok starting last Sunday. Having retaken Mogok under the terms of the ceasefire with the TNLA late last year, junta forces were well-positioned to launch an offensive to recapture the route, an operation they finally completed in a pincer manoeuvre on Tuesday. “Control of the Mongmit–Twinnge road is important for the defence of Mogok,” a tactical analyst said. “When the army took that road, the resistance groups around Mogok got caught in the middle, which is likely why they had to withdraw.” A resistance fighter confirmed this assessment. “Since many supply routes were cut off, we were essentially trapped, so some PDF units had to retreat. But not all of them, and other groups remain,” a resistance fighter said. “As for which groups have withdrawn and which groups remain, we cannot say for security reasons.” Although the junta has secured the road between Mongmit and Twin Nge, some Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and PDF forces are still stationed in the 4-Mile and 7-Mile villages outside Mongmit. “The junta cannot reach the Mongmit-Myitsone area yet. Since the KIA is in Mabein, it seems the KIA will continue to control the route,” said a Mongmit resident. The junta has been steadily regaining territory lost to anti-regime forces and taking control of vital routes used to supply the resistance in northern Shan State and central Myanmar, including the Pyin Oo Lwin-Mogok, Kyaukme-Mainglon, and Nawnghkio-Mogok roads. The current junta offensive is intended to sever the connection between resistance forces in Shan State and central Myanmar, the tactical analyst confirmed, and the army could seek to further this objective by advancing from Mongmit to Mabein, northern Shan State, which is currently controlled by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), via Mongmit. As with Mogok, the junta regained control of Mongmit under the terms of the ceasefire with the TNLA, but anti-junta forces—including the KIA, PDF, People’s Liberation Army (PLA), and All Burma Students' Democratic Front—have remained active in the surrounding area. Although resistance forces have now lost the Mongmit–Twinnge road, the junta’s ground operations are ongoing in the area and not yet complete, according to locally based resistance forces. While their troops are occupying Mongmit, the military regime has not yet started assigning civil service staff to resume administrative functions in the town, reflecting the weakness of their control, according to a source connected to the administration. “They haven't said anything about departmental staff re-entering yet,” the source said. “I think the army will continue to clear the area around the town to try to get things back to normal. It seems they will allow re-entry only when the situation is calm. And for now, there are still KIA groups near the town.”

Villages west of Mogok evacuated in anticipation of junta assaults

Anti-junta forces have continued to slow, but not stop, the Myanmar military’s counteroffensive in Mogok and northern Shan State, aimed at severing contact between resistance forces in different parts of the country and securing the military’s control over ceded territory

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