With Myanmar military close to retaking Nawnghkio, resistance faces second major setback

Notwithstanding a series of recent tactical gains by anti-junta armed groups on the Thailand-Myanmar border—particularly by the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA)—Myanmar’s broader resistance movement now faces a critical test in the country’s north. The military regime’s forces appear to be on the verge of retaking Nawnghkio, a strategically vital town in northern Shan State, in its entirety. The town has been under the control of the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), an ethnic armed group operating in northern Shan State, until earlier this month. Nawnghkio was one of the key towns seized from the military during the sweeping “Operation 1027” offensive launched in 2023 by the Brotherhood Alliance, a tripartite grouping of ethnic armed organisations including the TNLA as well as the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and Arakan Army. Members of the People’s Defence Forces commanded by the National Unity Government, as well as other allied resistance groups, fought alongside the Brotherhood Alliance groups against the military. The town sits on the Mandalay-Muse highway, a crucial trade corridor linking Myanmar’s heartland with China’s Yunnan Province. The potential loss of Nawnghkio to the advancing regime forces would represent the second major strategic reversal for the armed resistance in northern Shan State since the initiation of Operation 1027. The first came in April of this year, when the junta regained control of Lashio, northern Shan State’s largest city and a key logistics hub previously held by the MNDAA. Resistance sources say that mounting pressure on the anti-junta ethnic armed groups from China, which has an interest in stabilising cross-border trade, has emboldened the military regime’s northern counteroffensive. Junta forces close in Over the past week, multiple junta columns from Divisions 11 and 55, advancing northward from the village of Tawng Hkam, have captured Nam Hsawng Hu village just three miles south of Nawnghkio’s centre. The military has also deployed reinforcements from Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 114 and LIB 115, units the TNLA previously expelled from their bases during the 1027 offensive. The units have now returned to the front with renewed artillery, drone, and air support. Although the TNLA took control over most of Nawnghkio Township during the past year, the junta has maintained a stronghold in Tawng Hkam, a village in the township that houses one of the military’s key artillery bases. The TNLA attempted to take over Tawng Hkam with a series of assaults but reportedly halted these operations earlier this year after continuously suffering heavy losses. Sources told Myanmar Now that thousands of freshly conscripted soldiers, pressed into serving in the army under the junta’s People’s Military Service Law, are now being sent to the front lines. At the same time, resistance fighters are struggling with severe logistical problems and shortages of ammunition, manpower, medical provisions, and other supplies. The regime forces are reportedly using a combination of combat drones and Chinese-made Y-12 transport aircraft to bomb TNLA-held territories in Nawnghkio Township. Infantry units have moved in quickly to occupy those areas after forcing the anti-junta fighters to withdraw, according to sources within the TNLA. “The junta’s drones are more advanced. They have more weapons and more men. We’re holding on under immense pressure,” said a TNLA officer on the front, who requested anonymity because he is not authorised to speak to the media. “We now urgently need jammers to block drone attacks and bulletproof vests for protection,” he added. Since early July, the junta has closed off routes between the garrison town of Pyin Oo Lwin, Mandalay Region and Nawnghkio, effectively encircling the town. On July 10, the TNLA also cut off civilian access to the iconic Goteik viaduct, the steel bridge that connects central Myanmar to northern Shan State. The bridge, built high over the Goteik Gorge and recognisable to people throughout Myanmar, not only holds symbolic significance but also serves as a vital route for both military and commercial traffic. A local woman told Myanmar Now on Monday that junta troops had already entered Nawnghkio and were marching towards the Goteik viaduct. Although it remained under TNLA control as of Monday morning, the possibility of a direct assault by junta forces seemed imminent. Strategic implications If Nawnghkio falls to the regime forces, the TNLA’s defensive lines in Kyaukme and Hsipaw—two other towns controlled by the Ta’ang group to the northeast along the Mandalay–Muse corridor—will be vulnerable to immediate attack. Kyaukme has already endured airstrikes nearly every day in recent weeks as the junta concentrated its firepower on the town in apparent preparation for a coming offensive. The looming fall of Nawnghkio would not only represent a setback for the anti-junta fighters but deal a psychological blow to the broader resistance against military rule after its significant territorial gains in other parts of the country, such as Rakhine State, Karen State, and Sagaing Region. With Beijing quietly pressuring both sides to secure trade routes, and the junta pouring fresh resources into its northern campaign, Myanmar’s resistance alliance is facing a potentially decisive moment. “The army has encircled Nawnghkio. It’s not just a battle for territory, it’s a battle for momentum,” a local source close to the resistance said.

With Myanmar military close to retaking Nawnghkio, resistance faces second major setback

The imminent recapture of Nawnghkio may not only represent a strategic setback, but also deal a blow to the morale of the resistance movement against military rule in the country

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