The Myanmar junta’s artillery command hub in northern Shan State was seized by the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and allied People’s Defense Force (PDF) groups on Thursday, according to sources.
Anti-regime forces are currently clearing Artillery Command Headquarters 902 in Taung Khan (Tawnghkam) village, Nawnghkio Township, said a member of Kyaukme District People’s Defense Team. Details about casualties and weapons seized during the operation are still unknown.
Resistance allies have captured three of the four artillery units based in Taung Khan village, with only Artillery Battalion 354 left to be attacked.
The offensive to take the artillery battalions south of Nawnghkio town, near the Myitnge River, began last month. In response, the regime launched air and artillery strikes while dispatching infantry reinforcements from Lawksawk and Kyaukgu to Taung Khan.
Battalions in the nearby garrison town of Pyin Oo Lwin also provided artillery support for junta troops in Taung Khan.
Anti-regime forces reported that conscripts drafted under the military service law were among the reinforcements sent to Taung Khan and have been fleeing in disarray.
Pyin Oo Lwin, seat of the junta’s military academies, is located just 32 kilometers west of Taung Khan village and will be vulnerable once the artillery hub falls.
One PDT member said: “We can easily threaten Pyin Oo Lwin once we capture Taung Khan.”
Military analysts noted that Taung Khan was also on the road to southern Shan State, offering resistance forces a gateway to advance on the towns of Kyaukgu and Lawksawk.
Lawksawk is located about 160 km south of Nawnghkio
The Danu People’s Liberation Army (DPLA) is currently fighting the regime in Kyaukgu and Lawksawk. Its troops also helped the TNLA and PDFs seize Nawnghkio.
