The Taan National Liberation Army rebels refused to acknowledge the loss of the town of Nonghikio to the army, saying they had moved to a “safe place.”
The Myanmar military government claims to have eliminated rebel fighters and recaptured the town after a year of battle near the country’s major army training academy, marking a rare turn of power in the country’s northeastern region.
The country’s ruling forces announced Thursday that they had made progress in the town of Nong Kio, Shan Province town, which was under the control of the Tan National Liberation Army (TNLA).
Rebel groups, part of the three brotherhood alliances, seized a strategically important town on a critical highway linking central Myanmar to China in July 2024.
In a statement published in Myanmar’s state-run global New New Light, the military government said it had seized Nong Kio after “566 armed engagements within 11 months of operation.” An unusual page spread in the newspaper showed soldiers holding rifles high at celebrations. It detailed the fight, recognizing that the first attack led to officers, and that the men would “sacrifice their lives.”
But “by combining strategic ground and aviation military tactics,” the military said it had captured “the whole Norfukio region” by Wednesday.
Nawnghkio is located about 40km (25 miles) from Pyin Oo Lwin, hosts the country’s leading military officer training academy and is about 80km (50 miles) from Mandalay, the second most populous in Myanmar.
In a statement, the TNLA did not approve of the military government’s claim of victory. TNLA added that “citizen management services have been moved to a safe location.”
The total insurgent attacks on government forces have resulted in safe losses as they wielded the air force, which could avoid massive rebel advances, as military government control over large population centers is safe.
Northeastern Racio City was also captured by rebels, but was pulled back to the ruling forces in April after a deal brokered by China.
Since the 2021 military coup overthrew the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi and sparked the civil war in Myanmar, countless democratic armed groups and ethnic rebel troops joined forces to fight military rule.
Three groups of fellow alliances, including the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance and the Arakan army, have fought for decades for greater autonomy from Myanmar’s central government. The alliance is also roughly ally with the defense forces of people, the democratic resistance groups that emerged to fight the junta.
