The deputy commander of the North Eastern Command, Brigadier General Tin Tun Aung, was killed after being severely wounded in a rocket attack on the hilltop base he had retreated to in Lashio, the capital of northern Shan State, resistance sources said.
The brigadier general oversaw the defense of the city with Colonel Thant Htin Soe – Commander-in-Chief of the North Eastern Command – following the coordinated attack on the city by the Myanmar Nationalities Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and its allies that began on July 3.
Brig-Gen Tin Tun Aung and his troops shifted their defense position to Lashio City Hall on July 23 and 24 before retreating to a hilltop base on July 25.
However, a military informant tipped off resistance fighters that he had moved to a new position and the MNDAA swiftly launched a rocket attack on the hilltop base on July 25, a resistance source told The Irrawaddy.
“Within 30 minutes after telling the revolutionary groups the location of the junta’s deputy commander, the MNDAA attacked the hilltop base with 107mm rockets,” the source explained.
The head of the northern Shan State Police Force, Colonel Hla Min, was killed in the rocket attack and Brig-Gen Tin Tun Taung sustained serious injuries, the source said.
The brigadier general’s death was confirmed by a military informant on Sunday, the source said.
The MNDAA and its allies seized the hilltop base on July 27.
The MNDAA is a member of the Brotherhood Alliance, which launched Operation 1027 on October 27 last year. The coordinated offensive steamrolled through northern Shan State and was closing in on its goal of liberating the region from the regime’s military when a China-brokered ceasefire halted its progress in January. The operation resumed on July 3 with attacks on regime bases in Lashio township.
The MNDAA and its allies are poised to assert complete control over Lashio after seizing the headquarters of the junta’s North Eastern Command on Thursday.
Intense clashes continued on Tuesday as resistance groups fought to take the regime’s remaining military bases in the city.
On Saturday, the MNDAA announced the formation of a commission to rebuild and administer the city.
Since June 25, another Brotherhood Alliance member, the Ta’ang National Liberation Army, has been fighting junta troops west of Lashio, in northern Shan State and northern Mandalay Region, along with other resistance groups including People’s Defense Forces under the command of the civilian National Unity Government.
Since Operation 1027 resumed, ethnic armies and allied resistance groups have captured six towns and cities, including the Lashio, and about 100 junta bases, including several battalion headquarters, in northern Shan State and northern Mandalay Region.
