Following a yearlong battle close to Myanmar’s main army training academy, the military government claimed to have removed rebel fighters and recaptured a town. This marked a rare turnaround for the government in the country’s northeast.
The Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) had previously controlled the town of Nawnghkio in Shan State, and the ruling military announced this on Thursday.
The strategically significant town, which is situated on a crucial highway connecting central Myanmar to China, was taken over by the Three Brotherhood Alliance in July 2024.
The military government claimed to have retaken Nawnghkio after “566 armed engagements within 11 operational months” in a statement released by the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar. Soldiers were pictured holding rifles aloft in a rare one-page spread in a rare newspaper. It provided a detailed account of the conflict, citing initial events that officers and enlisted men “sacrificing their lives” led to.
However, the military “combined strategic ground military tactics with strategic air military tactics,” according to the report.
Nawnghkio is located 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city, and 80 kilometers (50 miles) from Pyin Oo Lwin, the town where the country’s main military officer training academy is located.
The TNLA stated in a statement that the military government’s victory had been denied, stating only that “the heavy offensive has made it difficult to continue administrative work in the town.” The TNLA added that “civil administration services have been relocated to secure locations”
Analysts claim that the military government’s control over large population centers is secure because it has an air force that can halt large-scale rebel advances, despite the combined rebel offensive against government forces having already begun in October 2023.
Northeastern Lashio city was also taken by the rebels in April, but a deal with China brokered its release was what gave it back to the ruling military.
A myriad of pro-democracy armed groups and ethnic rebel armies have joined forces to fight military rule in Myanmar since a military coup in 2021 toppled the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.
Source: Aljazeera
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