Fierce clashes were ongoing in northern Shan State on Wednesday as the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) attempted to seize the town of Mantong, according to locals and the ethnic army.
Junta troops deployed artillery and aircraft to bombard the town during the latest battle to erupt in the expanding 1027 resistance offensive.
TNLA forces have occupied Mantong’s junta-run government offices and township police station. Junta troops are now confined to the Infantry Battalion 130 base just outside the town, according to local media reports.
The TNLA said it attacked the base on Wednesday, sparking a fierce response as junta forces deployed a fighter jet and Harbin Y12 plane to drop over 200 bombs on the town and nearby areas.
The airstrikes damaged a dozen homes and a monastery, the TNLA said.
Meanwhile, the junta base bombarded eight surrounding villages and locations with 78 rounds of artillery, it added.
Wednesday also saw clashes break out in nearby Namtu and Kutkai townships, as TNLA troops attacked regime bases there. The junta bases responded by randomly shelling surrounding villages, the TNLA said.
The junta also used MI 17 helicopters to airlift reinforcements and ammunition to junta bases at Namtu, Kutkai and Muse Town on the Chinese border on Wednesday.
On Monday, the TNLA took complete control of Namkham Town near the border after seizing the last junta strategic base of Sakhan Thit Kone, where 900 troops were stationed, following over a month of attacks. It also seized Namhsan town on December 15 after five days of attacks on military bases and a police station in and nearby the town.
Since launching Operation 1027 on Oct. 27, the Brotherhood Alliance of the TNLA, Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and Arakan Army (AA) has seized around 300 junta outposts, bases and police stations, as well as eight towns, including vital Myanmar-China trade and border hubs.
