The Ramanya Joint Military Column, formed by four armed resistance groups in Mon State, has been disbanded after just six months of operations.
The joint column was established on Jan. 19 and was officially dissolved on June 19, after completing an initial four-month mission.
“The column was disbanded in order to review its operations after reaching the end of its initial term. It also allows time to reassess and retrain personnel. With the formation of the new Ramanya Mon Army. Discussions are ongoing about the future structure and cooperation of the forces,” said Nai Banyar Mon, a member of the New Mon State Party – Anti-Dictatorship (NMSP-AD), who had taken part in the joint column.
The Ramanya Joint Military Column was a unified front consisting of the Mon National Liberation Army – Anti-Dictatorship (MNLA-AD), Mon State Revolutionary Force (MSRF), Mon Liberation Army (MLA), and Mon State Defense Force (MSDF). These groups came together in the aftermath of the 2021 military coup.
However, on May 24, two member groups, the NMSP-AD and MLA, merged to form the Ramanya Mon Army (RMA), creating a new force within the Mon resistance.
“Originally, the Ramanya Joint Column was formed by four Mon armed groups. But after the NMSP-AD and MLA united to create the RMA, only the MSRF and MSDF remained outside that new structure. So we decided to temporarily disband the column and hold discussions on how these remaining groups might collaborate with the RMA going forward,” said Dr. Thiri Mon Chan, the former spokesperson of the Ramanya Joint Military Column.
He added that the ultimate aim is to establish a single unified Mon army that represents the will of the Mon people.
The Ramanya Joint Military Column was created as a first step toward this goal and was meant to coordinate armed resistance and to increase the intensity of military operations in Mon State.
During its brief period of activity, the column carried out two operations: one on April 19, when it attacked the military regime’s Thetkaw checkpoint in Thanbyuzayat Township, and another on June 13 when it clashed with regime forces near Kalaipadaw village, located on the Ye-Thanbyuzayat highway in Mon State.
BNI
