Myanmar’s regime declared martial law in Mongmit and Mabein townships in northern Shan State on Wednesday, which were seized by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) last month.
The regime has retaken Mongmit after the KIA withdrew in late January but Mabein is still under KIA control.
Mongmit is an hour’s drive from Mogoke, Mandalay Region’s ruby-mining hub, and the imposition of martial law is viewed by observers as an attempt to increase security for Mandalay.
Brigadier General Soe Hlaing of the Northern Command is now supposedly in charge of the two towns. He was previously the Sagaing Region commander, overseeing junta terror campaigns involving arson attacks and massacres in the resistance hotspot.
A total of 27 civilians were killed and 12 injured in Mongmit Township between January 1 and February 2 by junta airstrikes and shelling to retake the town, according to the Shan Human Rights Foundation.
More than 6,000 displaced residents have not returned to their homes and over 150 houses were destroyed or damaged by junta strikes, said the foundation.
The regime imposed martial law in Kutkai, Kunlong, Namkham, Muse, Lashio, Hseni, Konkyan and Laukkai townships in northern Shan State when the Brotherhood Alliance launched Operation 1027 on October 27 last year. The regime has since lost control of five townships but a ceasefire brokered by China in January enabled it to retain Muse, Kutkai and Lashio.
Martial law has now been declared in more than 60 townships in Yangon, Mandalay, Sagaing, Magwe, Bago and Tanintharyi regions and Shan, Chin, Mon, Karen and Kayah states since the 2021 coup.
