Fighting intensified on Wednesday around the capital of northern Shan State, Lashio, after the Brotherhood Alliance launched coordinated attacks on four junta positions around the military’s Northeastern Command.
A Lashio resident told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday: “Jet fighters were flying over the town on Tuesday night. [The regime] fired multiple rocket launchers. It has been bombarding this morning, shaking houses. It just fired two shells. We are hiding in our houses.”
The junta’s artillery battalion and at least three other battalions in and around the town have fired hundreds of shells to support ground troops, she said.
The renewed offensive was led by the T’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA). Sources say the TNLA attacked three junta positions on Tuesday and the MNDAA is moving against a fourth. Neither group has given reports about the fighting.
Lashio Airport is closed.
A Brotherhood Alliance source said fighting is reported in Namhu village on the Lashio-Kutkai road, 19km from Lashio.
“Some fighting is about 5km from Lashio. Further away they are very close and the troops can see each other,” he said.
The regime has reportedly barred people from leaving Lashio. A few banks and shops were open but the streets are largely deserted.
A resident said: “The regime blockaded Lashio so civilians are trapped. Residents near the junta cantonment have left their homes. Shops have closed and streets are deserted.”
A travel agent in Lashio said flights have been suspended because of “bad weather”.
A resident said: “I bought air tickets but the agent phoned to say the flight was suspended. The airport is adjacent to the air base.”
Junta troops are deployed at the town hall and tanks and militia members block entrances to Lashio, according to residents.
A family of six was killed when a shell hit their home in Lashio on Wednesday morning, according to residents.
Two road bridges linking Lashio with southern Shan State have reportedly been blown up and the Brotherhood Alliance controls the Tangyan-Mongyai road, said the Ta’ang Women’s Organization.
A resident said on Wednesday: “The Hsipaw Bridge collapsed a few days ago, blocking the road to Mandalay. People were crossing the river with rafts but that has stopped now. There is another road through Mongyai and Kalaw to Mandalay but I heard that a bridge on that road has also collapsed. We can’t leave Lashio.”
Pro-junta Telegram channels said the TNLA, MNDAA and Shan State Progress Party have attacked the regime’s bases in Nanbao, Kone Nyaung and Naungmon near Lashio.
The TNLA is also attacking junta positions on the border of Mandalay Region and Shan State.
Additional reporting by Mai Khroue Jar and Saw Lwin
