The Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) told DVB that three civilians were killed and six were injured in towns near Kyaukme in northern Shan State on Thursday – one day after regime forces recaptured the town following its 21-day counteroffensive.
“Military columns are stationed at the entrance gate to the town,” a Kyaukme resident told DVB.
Lway Yay Oo, the TNLA spokesperson, told DVB that the regime used Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), or drones, and “poison gas bombs” in Kyaukme without elaborating further.
Kyaukme, located 68 miles (109 km) southwest of the regional capital Lashio, was seized by the TNLA on Aug. 5, 2024.
Pro-regime media reported on Oct. 2 that 61 “terrorists” were killed over the last 21 days of fighting with TNLA-led forces, which it claimed included the Danu People’s Liberation Army (DPLA) and the People’s Defense Force (PDF).
Kyaukme residents told DVB that regime officials returned to administer the town on Oct. 2, but civilians displaced from their homes due to the conflict have yet to return.
Airstrikes were carried out by regime forces on Namtu and Manton on Oct. 2, but no casualties were reported by the TNLA. Namtu and Manton are located 42-105 miles (67-169 km) west of Lashio.
Namtu was seized by the TNLA in December 2023. Manton is part of the Palaung Self-Administered Zone (SAZ) in northern Shan State, which was recognized under the military’s 2008 Constitution.
Another airstrike injured one civilian in Mandalay Region’s Mogok Township on Oct. 1. The ruby mining hub of Mogok was seized by the TNLA on July 24, 2024.
Zin Yaw, a Myanmar Army defector who joined the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) after the 2021 military coup, told DVB that this regime counteroffensive in northern Shan, which began with the recapture of Nawnghkio Township from the TNLA, will continue from Kyaukme to Hsipaw Township.
Hsipaw is located 22 miles (35 km) east of Kyaukme and 45 miles (72 km) southwest of Lashio. It was seized by the TNLA on Oct. 13.
The Shan Herald Agency for News (SHAN) reported that over 10,000 residents of Kyaukme and Hsipaw were forced to flee their homes due to fighting between regime forces and the TNLA on Sept. 24.
The regime Union Election Commission (UEC) has scheduled polls to be held in 38 of Shan State’s total 55 townships, including Kyaukme and Hsipaw. The regime scheduled elections will begin on Dec. 28 with polls being held in 274 out of Myanmar’s total 330 townships, according to the UEC.
During China-brokered peace talks between the regime and the TNLA, Naypyidaw demanded the surrender of all towns seized by the TNLA since Operation 1027 on Oct. 27, 2023. This does not include Manton and Namhsan, which are recognized as a part of the Palaung SAZ.
Three rounds of talks hosted by China have failed between the regime and the TNLA, which still controls Momeik, Manton, Namtu, Kutkai, Hsipaw, Namhsan, Monglon, Namhkam and Mongngawt townships in northern Shan, as well as Mogok in neighbouring Mandalay.
