Clashes continued in northern Shan State on Tuesday as the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) attempted to capture the last Myanmar junta base in Hsipaw Township and to deter a junta counteroffensive in nearby Nawnghkio Township.
The TNLA said it attacked Infantry Battalion 23 headquarters outside Hsipaw on Tuesday morning while a junta Y12 plane dropped ammunition for the base.
The TNLA and its allies occupied Hsipaw town on the Mandalay-Lashio-Muse road to China in August and have since attempted to overrun three junta battalion headquarters outside the town.
On September 17, the TNLA and its allies occupied Light Infantry Battalions 503 and 504, despite junta airstrikes.
The Shwe Phee Myay media group reported fighting and repeated airstrikes at Battalion 23 on Wednesday.
The TNLA was unavailable for comment.
The armed group reported clashes in Nawnghkio Township on Tuesday as TNLA troops attacked regime reinforcements from Lawksawk Township in southern Shan State.
The TNLA is targeting junta bases near Taunghkam village in the township after seizing two artillery battalion headquarters. Taunghkam links northern and southern Shan State.
The TNLA is a member of the Brotherhood Alliance along with the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army and Arakan Army (AA). The alliance launched Operation 1027 in northern Shan State last October, seizing around 25 towns and the capital, Lashio.
The AA has seized most of Rakhine State since November last year.
The junta in early September designated the three groups as terrorist organizations, ending Chinese hopes for a negotiated truce.
The junta has since increased airstrikes on schools, hospitals, hotels and markets in liberated areas of northern Shan and Rakhine states, killing numerous civilians and destroying civilian buildings.
