The Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) stated on Sunday that one civilian was killed by an artillery strike on Nawngpain village of Kyaukme Township, northern Shan State, on Saturday. Kyaukme, located 68 miles (109 km) southwest of the regional capital Lashio, came under TNLA control on Aug. 5.
“I think the regime’s counteroffensive to retake Kyaukme will rely heavily on artillery, drones and airstrikes just as it did in Nawnghkio,” Zin Yaw, a Myanmar Army defector who joined the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) after the 2021 coup, told DVB. The regime reclaimed Nawnghkio from the TNLA, located 32 miles (51 km) southwest of Kyaukme, on July 16.
The TNLA reported that two civilians were killed and 15 others were injured by airstrikes carried out by the Myanmar Air Force on Kyaukme since July 4. It also claimed that airstrikes injured three civilians in Nawnghkio on July 26.
Residents told DVB that the regime has reinforced its positions in Nawnghkio, and a regime column at Gokhteik Bridge, located 40 miles (64 km) south of Kyaukme. Regime forces have launched artillery strikes on Kyaukme since July 26.
Nawnghkio and Kyaukme are strategically important due to their location on the key Myanmar-China border trade route. The Mandalay–Muse road, also known as No. 14 Asia Highway, passes through Nawngkhio from west to east.
Sources told DVB that regime forces recaptured Mandalay’s Thabeikkyin town on July 23, which is located 55 miles (88 km) west of Mogok Township, a town famous for its ruby mines which is also under TNLA control.
Residents of Mogok town told DVB that one civilian was killed and seven others were injured during an attack on the Golden Butterfly Hotel on July 26. Pro-regime media reported that TNLA senior officials were inside the hotel. Mogok is located 124 miles (200 km) northeast of Mandalay.
Lway Yay Oo, the TNLA spokesperson, told the media at a press conference on July 5 that Chinese representatives met with both the regime and the TNLA on separate occasions to call for an end to fighting.
The TNLA is expected to meet with the regime for a third round of talks in China in August after the two sides failed to come to an agreement during the first two rounds of talks in February and April.
