Junta admits defeat of Northeastern Command

By Admin 05 Aug 2024

DMG Newsroom
5 August 2024, Sittwe

Myanmar’s military regime acknowledged on Monday that its Northeastern Command based in Lashio, northern Shan State, has fallen into the hands of the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and that some military officers were arrested by the Kokang ethnic armed group.

Junta spokesman Major-General Zaw Min Tun said the regime lost contact with commanders of its Northeastern Command after 6 p.m. on Saturday.

“We are trying to confirm the reports that Kokang troops captured officers. The Tatmadaw [Myanmar military] will do what should be done for the comrades,” he said.

The MNDAA and allies seized the Northeastern Command on August 3, one month after launching an assault on Lashio on July 3. Former Northeastern Command chief Major-General Soe Tint, commanding officer Brigadier-General Thant Htin Soe and chief of the 1st Military Operations Command Brig-Gen Myo Min Htwe were reportedly captured during the offensive.

The fall of the Northeastern Command, which has a formidable reputation among the 14 regional commands, deals a significant blow to the junta symbolically and substantively, said political observer and veteran Arakanese politician U Pe Than.

“The Northeastern Command is the regime’s strongest regional command. Its defeat will undermine the morale of other regional commands, and usher in the downfall of the regime,” he predicted.

The Northeastern Command is widely considered the military’s most powerful regional command due in part to its historical pedigree. It fought the Communist Party of Burma (CPB), notably repulsing 40 days of human-wave attacks by the CPB in Kunlong in 1971, and offensives by the MNDAA in Laukkai in 2015.

It is the third largest regional command headquarters of the Myanmar military.

Political analyst U Than Soe Naing said: “The fall of the Northeastern Command is a serious blow to the regime. The Western Command, Northern Command and Central Command are also under attack. Once they fall, the regime will be defeated completely.”

The Arakkha Army (AA) is attacking the military’s Western Command in Arakan State’s Ann Township, while the Kachin Independence Army is attacking junta troops in Kachin State, where the Northern Command is based.

For their part, the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and allies are attacking junta positions in Mandalay Region, where the Central Command is based.