Junta making moves to recapture Lashio: analysts

By Admin 05 Oct 2024

DMG Newsroom
5 October 2024, Sittwe

Myanmar's military regime has been conducting near-daily airstrikes on Lashio Town, the capital of northern Shan State controlled by the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA). Military analysts say the airstrikes are part of the junta's efforts to retake the town, where the Myanmar military's Northeastern Command was based before being overrun by the MNDAA.

The regime has targeted Lashio with indiscriminate airstrikes since late August following the visit of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to Naypyidaw to meet with junta chief Min Aung Hlaing in mid-August.

After the fall of the Northeastern Command, the regime appointed a new commander based in Mongyai Town and is preparing to launch a ground attack on Lashio, according to political and military analyst U Than Soe Naing.

"The regime has so far gathered around 3,000 troops in Mongyai. So, the regime is likely to carry out a ground attack soon. The Northeastern Command is crucial for the regime. Only after regaining it will it be able to restore trade with China," he said.

Heavy fighting is likely to resume between the regime and MNDAA soon, he predicted.

China specialist Dr. Hla Kyaw Zaw said the regime is bombing Lashio not because it is being encouraged to do so by China, but rather because it is intent on decimating any territory it has lost control over.

"When the two sides met in China for peace talks earlier, a junta general told ethnic armed groups that they may seize towns, but the military would always carry out air raids. Wang Yi is unlikely to have told the regime [to carry out air attacks]," said Dr. Hla Kyaw Zaw.

China wants to see dialogue between all the stakeholders, she added.

China has closed the border crossings in areas controlled by the ethnic armed groups after the MNDAA seized control of Lashio, cutting off electricity, telecommunications services and food supply to the MNDAA and its ally the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA). It has also put pressure on the United Wa State Army (UWSA) to make sure goods are not transported through its territory to the MNDAA and the TNLA.

On Friday, the MNDAA said the regime had carried out more than 20 air raids since July, killing at least 31 civilians and wounding more than 100 others. Many Lashio residents have fled the town due to the junta's frequent and ongoing airstrikes.