The Myanmar junta has defied a China-brokered ceasefire to launch deadly attacks on the border of Shan State and Mandalay Region, according to residents and resistance groups.
Junta troops launched attacks between Shan’s Mongmit (Momeik) and the ruby-mining hub of Mogoke in Mandalay on Sunday, causing thousands of Mogoke residents to flee.
On Monday, two junta warplanes dropped 10 bombs around the village of Lwal Sar Kone, located between Mongmit and Mogoke towns, according to the Brotherhood Alliance’s Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA).
The attacks occurred just days after junta troops in Mogoke shelled nearby Pain Pyit village on Jan. 18, killing two civilians including a child and wounding two others. Houses in the village were also destroyed in the attack, forcing residents to flee, said locals.
Mogoke town is in TNLA Brigade 2 territory and is located just 45 kilometers from Mongmit. Fighting has been reported across both townships since late October.
The Brotherhood Alliance agreed a ceasefire with the junta in Kunming, China on Jan. 11 after taking 16 towns in northern Shan State since launching Operation 1027 on Oct. 27.
Both sides agreed to stop fighting, with the junta pledging not to launch ground assaults or air and artillery strikes across northern Shan State.
However, the military has repeatedly violated the truce by raiding and shelling villages in northern Shan’s Mongmit, Kyaukme, Namkham and Lashio townships, according to the TNLA and residents.
Locals in Mogoke town are now leaving as the fighting gets closer, a resident said.
“We can hear the sound of shelling frequently again this week. We are monitoring the situation and preparing to flee,” he told The Irrawaddy.
Mogoke is famous as the hub of Myanmar’s ruby-mining industry.
The regime has intensified its assault on the Shan border area since Mongmit town was seized by allied forces of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), All Burma Students’ Democratic Front (ABSDF) and People’s Defense Force (PDF) on Jan. 18.
The KIA, ABSDF and PDF were not party to the ceasefire agreement.