TNLA says it has seized five towns in four months

By Admin 16 Oct 2024

DMG Newsroom
October 16, 2024

The Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) said it has seized total control of five towns including Nawnghkio, Momeik (Mongmit), Kyaukme and Hsipaw in northern Shan State, and Mogoke Town on the border of northern Shan and Mandalay Region, in the second phase of “Operation 1027,” which began on June 25 of this year.

The ethnic armed group announced on Tuesday that it had captured Hsipaw after defeating Infantry Battalion No. 23, the last of the three battalions in Hsipaw Township, following nearly three months of fighting. It has also seized the township police station and the junta’s departmental offices in Hsipaw.

The regime carried out around 170 air attacks and nearly 1,900 artillery strikes during the fighting in Hsipaw, according to the TNLA. The regime also airdropped 440 packages of ammunition with its Y-12 and Y-18 aeroplanes, and Mi-17 gunships, according to the TNLA.

The TNLA said it had seized various types of weapons including firearms, mortars, machine guns, rocket-propelled launchers, landmines and military equipment during the fighting.

Thirty-three Hsipaw residents were killed and 80 others were wounded by the junta’s indiscriminate attacks during the fighting. Two schools and 47 houses were damaged or destroyed, according to the TNLA.

The TNLA also detained 78 female family members of junta soldiers who were forced to take part in the fighting. They were released along with other family members, the TNLA said.