After months of clashes, fighting between the Myanmar regime and the ethnic Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) for control of strategically important Tawnghkam Village and nearby areas in Nawnghkio Township, northern Shan State, is at a stalemate.
Tawnghkam is a large village on the road between Nawnghkio and Lawksawk (Yatsauk) township in southern Shan State. It is a crucial gateway linking northern and southern Shan State.
After three months of fighting, neither side has been able to take full control of the entirety of Tawnghkam Village and its surrounding areas.
Instead of advancing against the remaining junta forces, the TNLA has shifted to a defensive stance. Meanwhile, the junta is bolstering its presence in Tawnghkam, sending in reinforcements from its Eastern Regional Command located in the southern Shan State capital, Taunggyi, and from other bases like Ba Htoo Station and Lawksawk, via the Lawksawk-Kyauk Gu-Nawnghkio Road.
“The situation in Tawnghkam is a stalemate. The junta continues to reinforce its troops, while the TNLA is holding its defensive lines. The junta has regained control of some areas in Tawnghkam and the nearby village of Tawngshwe. Airstrikes have also ceased recently,” said a source who is closely monitoring the conflict in Tawnghkam.
Located west of the Dohttawaddy Bridge in southern Nawnghkio Township, Tawnghkam Village houses the regime’s Artillery Command Headquarters (ACHQ) 902 and three other artillery battalions: 354, 206 and 406. ACHQ 902 is the sole artillery command headquarters within the area covered by the Eastern Regional Command and oversees 13 artillery battalions.
The TNLA captured Artillery Battalions 406 and 206 on Aug. 28. Only ACHQ 902 and Artillery Battalion 354 remain.
In October and September, the TNLA, a member of the Brotherhood Alliance, launched operations to capture those remaining units, while the junta launched airstrikes and its bases in Pyin Oo Lwin provided artillery support.
A political and conflict analyst remarked that the fighting in Tawnghkam has been prolonged because the TNLA has shifted to a defensive strategy, while the junta’s attempts to retake the area have been unsuccessful.
“If the junta is able to regain control of Tawnghkam, it would be easier for them to penetrate into Nawnghkio, which is under the TNLA’s control. That’s why the TNLA has established a strong defensive line in Tawnghkam,” he said.
The Brotherhood Alliance overran dozens of towns and battalions during the first phase of its Operation 1027 offensive late last year.
The operation resumed in late June after a China-brokered ceasefire collapsed. Since then, the alliance has seized northern Shan’s Kyaukme, Hsipaw, Nawnghkio and Lashio, as well as Madaya and Mogoke towns in Mandalay Region.
On Aug. 11, two months after seizing Nawnghkio, the TNLA and allied forces launched attacks on Mat Man Taw and Tawnghkam, seizing the two artillery battalions in a two-week period.
Pro-junta lobbyists spread misinformation claiming that the junta’s military retook Point 1130, a hilltop outpost in Tawnghkam, on Nov. 23. However, a resident and a TNLA member denied these claims, stating that the junta has not regained control of any base or outpost from the TNLA in Tawnghkam.
However, the fighting has ceased since early November, with the situation in Tawnghkam reaching a stalemate.
A Shan ethnic political activist noted that if Tawnghkam falls to the TNLA, newly emerged resistance forces and ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) from the northern part of the country could easily penetrate junta military hubs like Pyin Oo Lwin and Mandalay.
“The forces in the north would also be able to easily connect with forces from Karenni [Kayah] State. Then if they could strategically coordinate offensives against junta military bases, the resistance could threaten the junta’s core center, Naypyitaw, within a few months,” he said.
