Troops from the 55th Light Infantry Division (LID) stationed in Laukkai, the capital of the Kokang Self-Administered Zone in northern Shan State, have surrendered to the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), according to military analysts close to sources on the ground.
An analyst monitoring the fighting in northern Shan State reported, “Based on a video clip on social media and accounts of residents, it is believed that three battalions of about 60 soldiers each from the 55th LID [were stationed around Laukkai].
“This would suggest a total of 180 troops. Reports indicate that about half of them were killed [in fighting], while the remaining half chose to surrender.”
Local pro-junta Border Guard Force (BGF) members under warlord Bai Suocheng also surrendered to the MNDAA, said the military analyst.
Bai was an MNDAA deputy commander who allied with the Myanmar military to oust MNDAA leader Peng Jiasheng in 2009. He then became the first leader of Kokang Self-Administered Zone formed under the military-drafted 2008 Constitution. His troops were reorganized as the BGF, which controls Laukkai, a notorious hub for cyber-scams and gambling on the Chinese border.
A video clip that went viral on TikTok on Monday morning shows men in MNDAA uniforms distributing snacks to around 70 men in junta military uniforms. Chinese subtitles accompanying the video explain MNDAA members are counting prisoners of war from the 55th LID and BGF. The subtitles claim that all the regime troops deployed on Mt Guan Ying were defeated on Sunday.
Another video clip on TikTok shows over 30 men in junta military uniform sitting on grass, some apparently injured, as someone says in Burmese, “the medic is coming.” Men wearing MNDAA badges and holding Chinese Type-81 assault rifles are standing guard nearby.
The Irrawaddy reached out to MNDAA spokesman Yang Yang for confirmation that soldiers from the 55th LID had surrendered, but had received no reply as of press time.
A member of the tripartite Brotherhood Alliance, the MNDAA stopped responding to media questions after joining Beijing-mediated talks with the junta in China’s Yunnan province in early December. Analysts say the MNDAA was pressed by China to shun the media.
The Brotherhood Alliance has seized 10 towns and hundreds of junta bases since launching its Operation 1027 offensive in northern Shan State at the end of October
Kaung Thu Win, a former army captain who defected, said the video clips were strong evidence that 55th LID soldiers had surrendered.
“They may be from 55th LID, but not all of them. I also saw badges of the Northeastern Command. The terrain in the video clips looks like northern Shan State. The Kokang soldiers look like MNDAA members.”
The 55th LID was renowned for its combat ability before the 2021 coup, but its troop numbers and morale have declined since then, said Kaung Thu Win.
“As their deployment prolonged, [the 55th LID] lost active status. They have been fighting for a long time and are weary, and they don’t want to fight,” he said.
The military analyst said the 55th LID and junta-affiliated militias reportedly surrendered at bases in western Laukkai, as the MNDAA attacks the town from the east and west.
MNDAA media outlet The Kokang said fighting continued in Laukkai on Sunday, with regime forces conducting 49 airstrikes on the town between December 18 and 24. Civilian casualties were confirmed in the strikes but details are still unknown, it said.
