Nawnghkio in northern Shan State is under attack from several directions as Myanmar’s junta tries to retake the town from the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA).
Several hundred regime troops are attacking the TNLA and allies with artillery, drones and airstrikes from the Mandalay-Lashio and Lawksawk-Kyaukku roads.
Junta-backed Telegram channels and regime officers involved in the operation hailed the Nawnghkio offensive.
Fighting had been reported in seven villages outside Nawnghkio, the TNLA said on Saturday.
A Nawnghkio resident posted on Facebook that junta fighter jets and Y12 airplanes have been bombarding the area since Sunday.
The resident posted on Tuesday: “There has been continuous firing of heavy weapons and rifles. Fighter jets have conducted two airstrikes and Y12 planes hovered above for about an hour, dropping bombs.”
On Tuesday, a junta aircraft bombed homes in TNLA-held Kyaukme town next to Nawnghkio, reportedly killing a civilian and injuring several others, according to residents.
A TNLA source posted on Facebook on Monday that fighting for Nawnghkio was getting heavier as the regime attacked from two directions with thousands of troops.
The source said the TNLA and allies were putting up fierce resistance.
The TNLA was unavailable for comment on Tuesday.

Nawnghkio is strategically located on the main Mandalay-Muse road to China and is a gateway connecting Mandalay to areas controlled by the Brotherhood Alliance, of which the TNLA is a member.
In June last year, the TNLA and allies seized five towns, including Nawnghkio, bordering southern Shan State and Pyin Oo Lwin, a major garrison town in Mandalay Region.
The TNLA and fellow alliance member the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) have been pressured by Beijing to halt their attacks on the regime.
China has blocked border gates to territories held by the MNDAA and TNLA in northern Shan State, causing hardship for residents.
The MNDAA was pressured by Beijing to return northern Shan State capital Lashio to the regime in April.
The TNLA was urged to return its liberated towns to the junta during China-brokered peace talks in Kunming, Yunnan Province, in late April.
After the TNLA rejected the junta’s demands, regime aircraft bombed TNLA territory in northern Mandalay Region and northern Shan State.
On June 5, the TNLA told the media it would fight to defend Nawnghkio.