The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) told DVB that fighting broke out with regime forces at an unspecified location along the Mogok-Momeik Road, somewhere between Mogok Township in Mandalay Region and Momeik Township in northern Shan State, on Sunday.
Naw Bu, the KIA spokesperson, acknowledged the fighting to DVB but said that he couldn’t confirm the exact location. The People’s Defense Force (PDF) confirmed that it was fighting alongside the KIA against regime forces.
Naw Bu told BBC Burmese on Dec. 1 that Momeik is close to KIA-controlled areas in northern Shan, and that the KIA would assist its allied PDF. Momeik is located 28 miles (45 km) northeast of Mogok.
The Kachin News Group, a media outlet covering the KIA offensive in Kachin State and northern Shan, reported on Nov. 30 that the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) has told KIA and PDF forces not to enter Momeik, so that it can complete its handover of the town to the regime as agreed to in its China-brokered ceasefire deal reached on Oct. 29.
The PDF declined to respond to a DVB request for comment on the situation in Momeik. Both Momeik and Mogok were seized by TNLA-led resistance forces, including the PDF, in July 2024.
Nearly 100 military vehicles entered Mogok on Nov. 28, residents told DVB. Mogok is located 124 miles (200 km) north of Mandalay. A Mogok resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity that he could hear artillery fire on Nov. 30, but didn’t know where it was coming from.
Soe Htay, a Mogok resident and pro-democracy activist, told DVB that the KIA and the All Burma Students’ Democratic Front (ABSDF) will stop regime forces from taking control of Momeik in northern Shan after the TNLA withdraws.
Momeik is located 170 miles (273 km) west of the regional capital Lashio, and 184 miles (296 km) south of the KIA headquarters in Laiza. Mabein Township, 35 miles (56 km) north of Momeik, was seized by KIA-led resistance forces, including the PDF, in January 2024.
