Myanmar’s military surrendered its headquarters in Kokang Self-Administered Zone to the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army on Thursday, giving the ethnic Kokang army complete control of Laukkai town, the capital of the zone that stretches along Myanmar’s border with China in northern Shan State.
Videos posted on social media show defeated regime troops handing over their weapons and ammunition to MNDAA troops as they and their family members prepare to evacuate.
A source close to the ethnic army confirmed to The Irrawaddy that personnel at the regime’s Laukkai Regional Operation Command – its largest military center in the area – surrendered to the MNDAA on Thursday.
The Irrawaddy was unable to reach MNDAA spokesperson Le Kyar Wen for comment on Friday.
Local media reported that up to 1,000 regime troops, their family members and civil servants from junta-run government offices were evacuated to Lashio, the capital of northern Shan State. The junta’s Northeastern Military Command Headquarters is based in Lashio.
Lashio is surrounded by troops from the Brotherhood Alliance and other resistance groups. The MNDAA is a member of the Brotherhood Alliance.
The surrender of the regime’s Laukkai Regional Operation Command follows resumed fighting for the capital on Dec. 18 when the junta launched airstrikes against MNDAA bases in Kokang, which is also referred to as also known as Shan State Special Region 1.
The airstrikes ended a ceasefire that had been in place for about 20 days after both sides agreed to it at China-brokered peace talks in Kumming.
The MNDAA and two other ethnic armed groups – the Ta’ang National Liberation Army and Arakan Army – comprise the Brotherhood Alliance. Along with several resistance groups, they launched a coordinated anti-regime offensive called Operation 1027 on Oct. 27 last year. The initial focus of the offensive was to drive junta troops out of northern Shan State.
The surrender of Laukkai Regional Operation Command is another major step towards achieving this goal, and follows a recent pledge by the Brotherhood Alliance to capture it.
The Arakan Army expanded Operation 1027 to Rakhine State on Nov. 13.
The MNDAA and allied resistance groups also took control of Hopang town after attacking regime targets in it for some hours on Friday morning. Hopang is located between Kunlong and Chin Shwe Haw towns, both of which were captured during the initial phase of Operation 1027.
Two months after its launch, Operation 1027 resulted in the capture of more than 300 junta bases and outposts and more than 10 towns, as well as vital Myanmar-China trade routes and border trade gates in northern Shan State.
The Arakan Army has seized more than 140 junta bases and outposts in northern Rakhine State since it ended its ceasefire with the junta in Rakhine on Nov. 13. It said it took many of the outposts without a fight because junta troops abandoned them.
