The Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) told DVB that it plans to govern five districts under its control, including Namhsan, Kutkai, Namkham and Kyaukme in northern Shan State and Mogok in Mandalay Region, following the Palaung State Liberation Front (PSLF) annual meeting held at an undisclosed location Jan. 3-7.
“After Operation 1027 in 2024, we managed to capture 12 townships. To ensure the security of these towns and manage the current situation on the battlefield, we had to expand our brigades from seven to nine,” Lway Yae Oo, the TNLA spokesperson, told DVB.
The TNLA has seized control of 11 townships in northern Shan, as well as Mogok Township in neighbouring Mandalay, since it launched Operation 1027 with fellow Brotherhood Alliance members, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and the Arakan Army (AA), on Oct. 27, 2023.
“Our current goal is to include community participation in governance,” added TNLA spokesperson Lway Yae Oo. “We aim to form a local government in collaboration with civilians [this year].”
The TNLA stated on Saturday that it will resume its cooperation with the nationwide resistance to the 2021 coup during its 62nd Ta’ang Revolution Day.
“We will defeat the military to ensure our people’s long-term prosperity,” the TNLA shared in its press release on Jan. 11.
On Nov. 25, the TNLA announced that it was ready for talks with the regime in Naypyidaw, which seized power after the 2021 military coup. But the regime has yet to respond to this statement.
The Myanmar Air Force dropped at least 20 bombs on Mogok on Jan. 8, according to the TNLA, but it didn’t share any number of casualties. But on Nov. 11-12, the TNLA mentioned that airstrikes killed nine in Mogok and 11 in Naungkhio.
The TNLA claimed that the military is committing war crimes by conducting air and artillery strikes, arson attacks, and killing civilians in response to its losses on the battlefield.
It added that its armed forces have expanded from seven to nine brigades and from 35 to 45 battalions. Its political wing, the PSLF, will assume responsibilities for security, law enforcement, education, healthcare and social development in the five districts and 18 towns now under its administration.
The 12 townships include Momeik, Mongton, Namtu, Kutkai, Naungkhio, Hsipaw, Kyaukme, Namhsan, Monglon, Namhkam and Mongngao in northern Shan, as well as Mogok in Mandalay. They have been reorganized into 18 towns by the TNLA/PSLF.