The Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and allied resistance forces reportedly seized two artillery battalion headquarters in Taung Hkam Village, Nawnghkio Township, northern Shan State on Wednesday and Thursday after weeks of fighting, according to sources close to the frontline forces.
Citing both frontline resistance fighters and informants in the junta’s military, former Captain Zin Yaw, a participant in the Civil Disobedience Movement, confirmed that the headquarters of Artillery Battalions 206 and 406 are now in the hands of the TNLA.
“This time, the TNLA is fighting in Taung Hkam with [the help of] many allied forces, so they were able to break through the junta’s defenses and seize these two bases,” Zin Yaw said.
However, he added that the TNLA and its allies are still fighting in Taung Hkam as they try to seize two remaining regime units there—Artillery Operations Command 902 and Artillery Battalion 354.
A source close to TNLA fighters and officers on the front line also confirmed the TNLA has seized Artillery Battalions 206 and 406.
Additionally, a local media outlet founded by Ta’ang youths reported the capture of Artillery Battalion 206’s headquarters by the TNLA on Wednesday evening.
However, the TNLA has yet to make any official announcement on the seizure of the bases, and its spokesperson Lway Yay Oo did not answer The Irrawaddy’s phone calls.
On Wednesday evening, the TNLA announced in a statement that it and its allies had launched attacks on Artillery Operations Command 902 and Artillery Battalions 406 and 206.
The TNLA said junta fighter jets and a Y-12 transport plane dropped at least 100 bombs on Taung Hkam and nearby areas.
Taung Hkam is currently crowded with forces from both sides. Junta military units that retreated from Lashio in recent months are stranded in the village, while reinforcements sent from the Myanmar military’s Eastern Command in Taunggyi city, the capital of Shan State, are also there.
Taung Hkam is a large village on the road between Nawnghkio and Lawksawk (Yatsauk) townships in southern Shan State. Lawksawk is located about 160 km south of Nawnghkio. Taung Hkam is home to the four artillery bases, including a command, but has no infantry or light infantry bases.
The junta’s military goal in in Taung Hkam is a defensive one: to prevent the TNLA and its allies from entering southern Shan State, Capt. Zin Yaw said.
