The Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) told DVB that it has seized control of Mogok Township in northern Mandalay Region on Wednesday. Mogok is famed for its ruby mines, which are a major source of revenue for both the military and ethnic armed groups active in neighboring Shan State.
“We took control of the entire town,” said Lway Yay Oo, the TNLA spokesperson. It and the Mandalay People’s Defense Force (MPDF) launched Operation Shan-Man, which refers to the twin offensives in Mandalay and northern Shan State, on June 25.
The TNLA shared photos and videos to its social media accounts of troops being greeted by residents with flowers as they entered the town. Mogok is divided into eastern and western halves that are seven miles (11 km) apart.
The TNLA and MPDF seized control of the western part of Mogok on July 2. It is now the second town seized outright by the TNLA after it took control of Nawnghkio Township in northern Shan State on July 10.
Large rubies from Mogok have been sold for millions of U.S dollars at international gem auctions. The regime in Naypyidaw has not issued a response about the loss of Mogok to the TNLA.
The MPDF seized neighboring Singu Township in Mandalay Region on July 17. Mogok is 75 miles (120 km) north of Singu. Twenty-eight military outposts have come under MDPF control since June 25.
The TNLA is a member of the Brotherhood Alliance, along with the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and the Arakan Army (AA), which launched Operation 1027 on Oct. 27 and seized over 300 military outposts and 13 towns along the China-Myanmar border.
The AA has seized over 180 military outposts and 10 towns in Arakan State, including Paletwa in southern Chinland, since it launched its own offensive against the military on Nov. 13.