The military regime has intensified assaults on areas controlled by the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) even as the two sides attend China-brokered talks in Kunming.
The junta bombed southern parts of Nawngkhio Township on Tuesday morning and the former TNLA war office headquarters on the border of Namtu and Kutkai townships on Monday night, when three TNLA members were reportedly injured.
A TNLA source said no civilian was injured in Tuesday’s airstrike. “The place was also hit in the previous bombing raid,” he told The Irrawaddy. “The bombs landed quite close to villages.
There have also been daily clashes in Taung Hkam in the south of Nawnkhio Township, as the regime carries out offensives with artillery support, according to a resistance fighter from Kyaukme District, which includes both towns.
“Both sides have suffered casualties. The regime uses jet fighters and artillery to support its ground troops,” he said.
He added that junta troops have advanced from Dokhtawady Bridge southeast of Taung Hkam town and occupied a monastery south of Narsho village near Artillery Battalion 406.
TNLA General Secretary Tar Bone Kya wrote on social media: “As the regime has reached an agreement with the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, it will have leverage in holding talks with us. It has intensified its attacks in Taung Hkam, Nawnghkio, and Thabbeikyin. Su-30, Y-8 and Y-12 aircraft have been flying over Nawnghkio, Kyaukme, Mogoke and Mongmit and dropping numerous bombs as they wish. China-brokered talks and Myanmar’s civil war. Stakes are high every day.”
Pro-junta Telegram channels said the regime is trying to regain full control of Taung Hkam using jet fighters, drones, and artillery.
The junta has recaptured Artillery Command Headquarters 902 and two artillery battalions—206 and 406—that the rebels had seized in the town. They are now shelling TNLA positions.
Taung Hkam is just a two-hour drive from Pyin Oo Lwin, which is home to the regime’s elite military academies, though they are being evacuated to Naypyitaw.
The TNLA said the junta’s artillery battalions fired 137 shells at four villages in Nawnghkio Township on Saturday in an unprovoked artillery bombardment against residential areas. The regime also dropped 38 bombs on one of the villages from a Y-12 aircraft.
On Feb. 10, the regime killed five civilians and wounded 19 others in airstrikes on Mogoke, according to the TNLA.
A TNLA delegation led by Lieutenant General Tar Gu Jar and a junta delegation led by General Ko Ko Oo have been holding talks in Kunming since Sunday. Neither side has reported on their progress.
