Combined forces of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and People’s Defense Forces (PFDs) seized control of Mabein Township, northern Shan State, on Sunday morning.
Junta troops deployed at Mabein police station surrendered after resistance groups overran a junta hill-top outpost overlooking the town following three days of fighting.
The latest loss for the junta in Shan State comes despite a China-brokered ceasefire agreed with the ethnic Brotherhood Alliance, which does not include the KIA.
KIA information officer Colonel Naw Bu confirmed the seizure of Mabein.
“We still don’t know the details but the regime is reportedly conducting airstrikes in the area,” the KIA spokesman told The Irrawaddy on Sunday.
Junta warplanes bombed the town repeatedly over the weekend, inflicting civilian casualties, according to residents.
“The police station has surrendered and the military outpost has fallen, so it is fair to say Mabein has fallen,” one resident told The Irrawaddy on Sunday.
“Gunfire ceased around 9 am [on Sunday]. Many residents had already left, so only a few people were trapped by the fighting.”
Video clips posted on social media show resistance forces apparently searching military positions in Mabein following the attack.
Another resident said the regime carried out airstrikes against the town from Saturday night until Sunday morning.
“They were fighting the whole night. Most residents had already fled following the fighting in [neighboring] Mongmit,” he said.
The chief of Mabein Township’s police was reportedly seriously wounded in Saturday’s fighting.
Mabein Township borders Shan and Kachin states as well as Sagaing Region. Situated on the Shweli River, the township is home to 41,000 people living in four wards and 48 villages.
It lies around 50 kilometres north of Mongmit town (Momeik), where four junta battalions are besieged by resistance forces amid fierce fighting.
Fierce clashes continued on Sunday in Mongmit, where junta air, artillery and infantry attacks resulted in heavy civilian casualties, said one resident.
“Almost the whole town has been turned to ashes. Warplanes keep coming and dropping bombs. At least three town residents and a woman from Namkhamin village have been killed [in bombing raids]. Junta troops came into the town on Friday and Saturday and fired at anyone they saw. At least 10 civilians were killed. We are unable to identify the victims as the fighting is still going on,” said the resident.
The Irrawaddy could not independently verify the reports of civilian casualties.
Junta troops are deployed in the town, said another resident. While many civilians have fled, those who stayed behind to take care of their houses and the elderly are trapped in Mongmit.
“Junta troops have raided houses and seized phones. They shot and killed those wearing black backpacks. Some were killed by the roadside. More may have been killed in their houses,” another resident reported.
At least 50 shops in the town’s central market were reportedly incinerated in junta bombing raids on Friday night.
The four junta units based in Mongmit are Light Infantry Battalion 348 under Northern Command, a tactical unit, and Infantry Battalions 223 and 276 overseen by 21st Military Operations Command based in Kachin State’s Bhamo.
Combined forces of the KIA, All Burma Students Democratic Front, and PDFs launched their attack on Mongmit town last Thursday (Jan. 18). Mongmit is located just 28 miles from Mandalay’s Mogoke, known worldwide as “Ruby Land” for its gemstone mines.
The Brotherhood Alliance of three other ethnic armies has secured control over much of northern Shan State through Operation 1027 since its launch on October 27. However, it says a China-brokered ceasefire with the junta is preventing it from adding to the 16 towns it has already seized.
