Residents of northern Shan State’s capital, Lashio, have been urged to stay alert for possible junta airstrikes following the reported collapse of three-day China-brokered peace talks between the regime and the powerful ethnic Kokang rebel army that liberated the city.
The peace talks held in Kunming in China’s Yunnan Province from March 22-24 ended in an impasse as junta representatives demanded the return of the whole of Lashio Township, while the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) merely proposed handing over some wards in Lashio city, according to a source close to the ethnic armed group’s central committee.
Neither side has made any official announcement about the peace talks—nor has Beijing.
An official of the Lashio Reconstruction Group, which was formed by the MNDAA to rehabilitate the war-torn city, warned via his Facebook on Monday that “The negotiations have reportedly failed. That is why the main concern for the people of Lashio is the threat of junta airstrikes.”
The official added: “Stay extremely cautious about junta airstrikes as the junta madmen are unpredictable.”
Prior to January, when the MNDAA agreed to a China-brokered ceasefire with the regime, junta warplanes frequently bombed Lashio city and nearby areas, causing civilian casualties and destroying civilian infrastructure.
“The regime may conduct aerial bombardments if they don’t get what they want [at the peace talks]. People must remain vigilant against airstrikes both day and night and always stay alert,” another Lashio resident told The Irrawaddy.
The MNDAA is a member of the Brotherhood Alliance of ethnic armies, which launched the successful anti-regime Operation 1027 across northern Shan State along with several resistance groups including the People’s Defense Force (PDF), the armed wing of the civilian National Unity Government, in October 2023.
The ethic alliance has seized most of northern Shan State including the capital Lashio as well as vital trade routes with China.
Beijing has pressured the MNDAA and fellow alliance member the Ta’ang National Liberation Army to stop fighting the regime, blocking border trade between China and the groups’ territories in northern Shan.
Rumors continue to swirl that the MNDAA will have to withdraw from Lashio entirely, due to the Chinese pressure.
Protesters in Lashio on Thursday urged the MNDAA to stay in the northern Shan State capital and called on China to stop interfering in their lives.
