Myanmar junta troops have seized a village and tourist destination just 25 minutes from Nawnghkio town, sparking concerns of a possible offensive on the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA)-controlled town in northern Shan State.
Pro-junta Telegram channels shared video clips claiming to show Light Infantry Battalions 505 and 17 capturing Shwe Ayeyar resort near Melpote village, a tourist attraction renowned for seas of mist. The channels suggested a junta offensive on Nawnghkio town would be timed to mark Armed Forces Day on Thursday.
A female resident of Nawnghkio confirmed the regime had captured Melpote, south of Nawnghkio.
The TNLA and allies, including the Danu People’s Liberation Army (DPLA) and Kyaueme District Special Force, seized Nawnghkio town during the second phase of Operation 1027 in June last year, isolating Taunghkam village – which houses a junta artillery battalion headquarters – for months.
The regime recaptured Taunghkam after it intensified attacks following the failure of February talks with the TNLA in Kunming, China.
Responding to speculation about a possible junta assault on Nawnghkio, TNLA spokeswoman Lway Yay Oo said: “We are monitoring the junta’s activities and will respond accordingly.”
Taunghkam is around 80 kilometers from Pyin Oo Lwin, home to the junta’s elite military academies. Lying at the junction between northern and southern Shan State, it houses Artillery Battalion Headquarters 902 and three artillery battalions.
A military analyst said: “The regime has recaptured all artillery battalions and the headquarters in Taunghkam. The TNLA has withdrawn because defending junta artillery and airstrikes from a fixed position is difficult. However, although regime troops retook the camps, TNLA and DPLA troops have surrounded them in a guerilla-style operation.”
DPLA spokesman Ko Amaung confirmed the junta had recaptured artillery battalions in Taunghkam and three nearby villages.
“Fighting continues around Taunghkam however,” he said.
Satellite photographs show the regime has constructed at least five outposts with trenches on hills surrounding the artillery battalion headquarters.
“Fighting continues and we will keep attacking them,” said a member of Kyaukme District Special Force.
The regime is currently conducting airstrikes on TNLA positions on the roads between Taunghka and Nawnghkio and Pyin Oo Lwin and Nawnghkio.
Former captain Zin Yaw, a Myanmar military defector, said the regime had yet to regroup its forces for a ground attack on Nawnghkio.
“To me, it appears the junta is focused more on defending Pyin Oo Lwin Township than attacking Nawnghkio,” he said.
Junta airstrikes in TNLA-controlled Nawnghkio, Mogoke and Mongmit townships have killed 13 civilians and injured 36 others, according to the ethnic armed group.
