Battle of Lashio

Last updated
Battle of Lashio
Part of Operation 1027 in the Myanmar civil war
Battle of Lashio (July - August 2024).svg
  Controlled by the Three Brotherhood Alliance
  Controlled by the UWSA
Date2 July 2024 – 3 August 2024 (1 month, 1 day)
Location
Lashio
Lashio Township
22°57′59″N97°45′09″E / 22.9665°N 97.7525°E / 22.9665; 97.7525
Result Rebel victory [1]
Territorial
changes		 Rebel forces captured Lashio city and surrounding areas [1]
Belligerents
Flag of Myanmar.svg State Administration Council

Three Brotherhood Alliance
Communist Party of Burma flag (1970).svg People's Liberation Army
Flag of the Bamar People's Liberation Army.svg Bamar People's Liberation Army [2]

Contents

United Wa State Army flag.svg United Wa State Army (non-combatant)
Commanders and leaders
  • Flag of the Armed Forces (Tatmadaw) of Myanmar.svg Brig. Gen. Thant Htin Soe (POW)
  • Flag of the Armed Forces (Tatmadaw) of Myanmar.svg Brig. Gen. Tin Tun Aung  † [3]
  • Flag of the Armed Forces (Tatmadaw) of Myanmar.svg Col. Hla Min  † [3]
  • Flag of the Armed Forces (Tatmadaw) of Myanmar.svg Maj. Gen. Soe Tint (POW) [4]
  • Flag of the Armed Forces (Tatmadaw) of Myanmar.svg Brig. Gen. Myo Min Htwe (POW) [4]
Units involved

Flag of the Armed Forces (Tatmadaw) of Myanmar.svg  Tatmadaw

Three Brotherhood Alliance:

Communist Party of Burma flag (1970).svg People's Liberation Army
Flag of the Bamar People's Liberation Army.svg Bamar People's Liberation Army
Strength
5,000 [6] 6,000+ [6]
Casualties and losses
2,000 killed
4,783 surrendered (including 2,000 soldiers) [6] [4] 		500+ killed, 1,000+ wounded (per the MNDAA) [7]
300 civilians killed [8]

The Battle of Lashio was an offensive conducted by the Three Brotherhood Alliance, along with other resistance forces, to capture the northern Shan city of Lashio. The headquarters for the Tatmadaw's Northeastern Command, the city was besieged by rebel forces following the collapse of the Chinese-mediated ceasefire that had paused the rebels' Operation 1027. [9] [10] [11] [12] [13]

Background

During the first phase of Operation 1027, resistance forces seized several towns surrounding Laisho, including Hsenwi, Namtu, and Kutkai. They also took control of the road between Laisho and Mandalay, cutting the city off from reinforcement except by air. Following the city's encirclement, junta forces destroyed several bridges leading into the city to try and prevent rebel forces from advancing further. While the city appeared to be a key target for the resistance following the fall of Laukkai, the conflict in Northern Shan was halted by a ceasefire mediated by China. [9] [14]

The ceasefire agreement collapsed in late June 2024, after the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), a Brotherhood Alliance member, launched attacks in response to alleged junta violations of the ceasefire. [15] The rebel forces took control of the towns of Kyaukme and Nawnghkio on the road from Lashio to Mandalay, further consolidating the rebels' encirclement. [16] [17] On 2 July, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), another member of the alliance, joined the offensive, attacking junta positions around Lashio with the TNLA. [18] The military responded to the attacks with airstrikes and indiscriminate shelling. As fighting moved closer to the city proper, families of soldiers were evacuated, and thousands of civilians fled the conflict zone. [19]

Battle

Resistance forces began to advance into the city on 6 July, shelling and using drones to bomb the junta's headquarters inside of the city. [20] On 14 July, the MNDAA announced a four-day halt in its operations to avoid interfering with the ongoing third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. [21] However, clashes continued despite the unilateral ceasefire. On 17 July anti-junta forces captured army checkpoints outside of Lashio, forcing soldiers to withdraw into the city. [22] The MNDAA captured No. (68) Infantry Regiment on 23 July, capturing 317 POWs, including a Lieutenant Colonel, 2 Majors, and 5 Captains in the northern part of Lashio. [23] [24]

On 25 July 2024, the MNDAA claimed to have taken control of the junta's Northeastern Regional Military Command headquarters inside the city, but this claim was denied by the junta. [25] Rebel forces reported that resistance forces only had to capture a few remaining military holdouts in the city. [2] On 26 July it was reported that the junta had ordered its remaining officials to leave Lashio as MNDAA troops swept through remaining pockets of resistance. [26] Clashes were reportedly ongoing in the morning at Lashio Motel, Lashio University, and around Mansu Pagoda. [27] On the same day MNDAA rebels captured Ava Bank branch and Lashio Hospital. [28] On 27 July clashes were still ongoing with 20% of Lashio's civilian populace still trapped in the city. Routes were opened for civilians to flee. [29]

On that day the MNDAA captured the 41st Batallion Base, the 912nd Engineering Batallion Base, and a toll gate. [30] On 28 July MNDAA troops freed 200 political prisoners, including Tun Tun Hein, after capturing Lashio prison. [31] On 30 July the MNDAA ambushed a junta convoy from Tangyan that was meant to resupply Lashio, reportedly killing more than 50 soldiers. [32] On the same day the MNDAA captured Lashio Airport. On 1 August rebel forces raided the North East Command Post, leading to heavy clashes and casualties on both sides. Following the raid, only around 400 soldiers remained in the headquarters. [33] That evening, the Myanmar Air Force launched an airstrike on a hospital under the control of the MNDAA in Laukkai city, killing 10 people. [34]

On the same day, the MNDAA seized Supply & Logistics Battalion 626, capturing 2 BTR-3 infantry fighting vehicles. [35] On 2 August rebel forces stormed the Military Hospital in Lashio with unconfirmed reports of some patients and staff being killed. [36] According to some reports, the MNDAA attackers committed a massacre, murdering reportedly over 100 people, including children, medical staff, and patients who had remained in the hospital after the fighting subsided. [37] [38] On 3 August MNDAA forces entered the Northeast Command headquarters and raised their flag there. The MNDAA destroyed 2 WMA-301 assault guns and 2 BTR-3 infantry fighting vehicles during the battle at the Northeastern Command Headquarter. [39] The same morning, the last junta holdouts inside Lashio were reportedly defeated. [40]

UWSA deployment

On the night of 27 July hundreds of UWSA fighters entered Lashio to protect their external relations office and properties in the township. They communicated their intentions to both sides and reaffirmed their neutrality. [41] On 8 August UWSA reportedly deployed another batch of fighters armed with anti-aircraft guns to Lashio. [42]

Aftermath and importance

Lashio was reported as being a major strategic target for resistance forces to capture, and its fall to the MNDAA dealt a major blow to the junta, severing contact between Naypyidaw and junta forces further north in the country. According to Nathan Ruser, an analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, Lashio's capture "[...] basically eliminates the junta as an effective organized force from a huge part of the country,". [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lashio</span> Town in Shan State, Myanmar

Lashio is the largest town in northern Shan State, Myanmar, about 200 kilometres (120 mi) north-east of Mandalay. It is situated on a low mountain spur overlooking the valley of the Yaw River. Loi Leng, the highest mountain of the Shan Hills, is located 45 km (28 mi) to the south-east of Lashio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kyaukme</span> Town in Shan State, Myanmar

Kyaukme is a town in northern Shan State of Burma. It is situated on the Mandalay - Lashio road, after Pyin Oo Lwin and Nawnghkio, and before Hsipaw, on what is now the Mandalay - Muse road, part of the Asian Highway route 14 (AH14). It is also connected to Momeik (Mongmit) in the Shweli River valley and Mogok with its ruby mines. Kyaukme can be reached by train on the Mandalay-Lashio railway line. As of 2014, the population was 39,930.

Laukkai is the capital of Kokang Self-Administered Zone in the northern part of Shan State, Myanmar. It is located east of the Salween River, which forms part of Myanmar's border with the People's Republic of China at its upper reaches. It is about 10 miles (16 km) away from Nansan, China. In Laukkai, Southwestern Mandarin and Chinese characters are widely used, and the Chinese renminbi is in circulation. It is the main town of Laukkaing Township of the Kokang Self-Administered Zone. It is 117 miles (188 km) from Lashio and 42 miles (68 km) from Kongyan. Its population is 23,435. Laukkai is notorious for its gambling, prostitution, human trafficking and online scams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pa Laung Self-Administered Zone</span> Self-administered zone in Shan State, Myanmar

The Palaung Self-Administered Zone is a self-administered zone consisting of two townships in Shan State: Its capital is the town of Namhsan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kokang Self-Administered Zone</span> Self-administered zone in Shan State, Myanmar

The Kokang Self-Administered Zone, as stipulated by the 2008 Constitution of Myanmar, is a former De facto self-administered zone in northern Shan State. The zone is intended to be self-administered by the Kokang people. Its official name was announced by decree on 20 August 2010. It is recognized as illegal by the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arakan Army</span> Insurgent group active in Rakhine State, Myanmar

The Arakan Army, sometimes referred to as the Arakha Army, is an ethno-nationalist armed organisation based in Rakhine State (Arakan). Founded in April 2009, the AA is the military wing of the United League of Arakan (ULA). The Arakan Army are followers of Theravada Buddhism. It is currently led by Commander-in-Chief Major General Twan Mrat Naing and vice deputy commander-in-chief Brigadier General Nyo Twan Awng. The Arakan Army states that the objective of its armed revolution is to restore the sovereignty of the Arakan people. It was declared a terrorist organization in 2020 by Myanmar, and again by the State Administration Council junta in 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palaung State Liberation Front</span> Political party in Myanmar

The Palaung State Liberation Front is a political organization and armed group in Myanmar. Its armed wing is the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army</span> Ethnic insurgent group in northern Myanmar

The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) is an armed resistance group in the Kokang region of Myanmar (Burma). The army has existed since 1989, having been the first one to sign a ceasefire agreement with the Burmese government. The ceasefire lasted for about two decades.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 Kokang offensive</span> 2015 military operations in Myanmar

The 2015 Kokang offensive was a series of military operations launched by the Myanmar Army in 2015 in Kokang in northern Shan State, Myanmar (Burma). Several clashes between the Myanmar Army and Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army had taken place from February to May 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ta'ang National Liberation Army</span> Insurgent group in Shan State, Myanmar

The Ta'ang National Liberation Army is a political organization and armed group in Myanmar. It is the armed wing of the Palaung State Liberation Front (PSLF).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Myanmar civil war (2021–present)</span> Ongoing armed conflict in Myanmar since the 2021 coup detat

The Myanmar Civil War, also known as the Burmese Civil War, Burmese Spring Revolution, or People's Defensive War, is an ongoing civil war following Myanmar's long-running insurgencies, which escalated significantly in response to the 2021 military coup d'état and the subsequent violent crackdown on anti-coup protests. The exiled National Unity Government and major ethnic armed organisations repudiated the 2008 Constitution and called instead for a democratic federal state. Besides engaging this alliance, the ruling government of the State Administration Council, or SAC, also contends with other anti-SAC forces in areas under its control. Hannah Beech of The New York Times observed the insurgents are apportioned into hundreds of armed groups scattered across the country.

The following is a timeline of major events during the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), following the 2021 military coup d'état and protests. It was also a renewed intensity in existing internal conflict in Myanmar.

This is the list of important events happened in Myanmar in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation 1027</span> 2023–present anti-junta military operation in Myanmar

Operation 1027 is an ongoing military offensive conducted by the Three Brotherhood Alliance, a military coalition composed of three ethnic armed organisations in Myanmar: the Arakan Army (AA), Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), and Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), allied with other rebel forces in the country, against the Tatmadaw, Myanmar's ruling military junta.

The Three Brotherhood Alliance ;, also known as Brotherhood Alliance, is an alliance between the Arakan Army, Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, and the Ta'ang National Liberation Army formed in June 2019.

This is the list of important events happened in Myanmar in 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Laukkai</span> 2023–2024 military offensive in Myanmar

The Battle of Laukkai was a military offensive conducted by the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) encircling and capturing Laukkai, the capital of the Kokang Self-Administered Zone in northeastern Myanmar. The battle was part of the larger Operation 1027, a joint military operation conducted by the Three Brotherhood Alliance coalition of three ethnic armed organisations and part of the overall renewed civil war in Myanmar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rakhine offensive (2023–present)</span> Military operation in Myanmar

On 13 November 2023, the Arakan Army (AA), an ethnic resistance group active in the civil war in Myanmar, launched a military offensive against Myanmar's military junta in Rakhine and southern Chin State. Fighting began concurrently with the launch of Operation 1027, which the Arakan Army, as a member of the Three Brotherhood Alliance, also participated in. The offensive broke an informal ceasefire between the Arakan Army and the junta that had been in place for a year. During the offensive, the Arakan Army captured several towns in northern Rakhine, including Mrauk U, the capital of Mrauk-U District and the historical capital of Arakan. These gains gave them total control over most of northern Arakan. The Arakan Army followed these successes by besieging Sittwe, the state capital, and Ann, the headquarters of the junta's western command. They also launched offensives in the southern parts of the state, capturing several towns and throwing junta forces into disarray. The International Institute for Strategic Studies reported that the Arakan Army's sweeping gains "are already enough to enable self-rule over a large portion of the Rakhine homeland and to reshape the wider balance of power in Myanmar."

The Kachin Independence Army's (KIA) offensive in Kachin State, known unofficially as Operation 0307, is an ongoing military operation against the Tatmadaw military junta of Myanmar which began on 7 March 2024. Primarily centred along the road connecting Myitkyina to Bhamo, Operation 0307 was launched to capture junta bases which could threaten Laiza, the headquarters of the KIA. Operation 0307 was launched alongside concurrent KIA offensives against Hpakant and northern Shan State, and concurrent resistance offensives throughout Myanmar.

On April 10, 2021, fighters from the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) attacked a police station controlled by Tatmadaw, killing fourteen police officers. The Naungmon ambush was the first attack by the 3BA during the Myanmar civil war and after the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Regan, Watson, Helen, Angus (2 August 2024). "Myanmar rebels are claiming their biggest victory yet over junta forces. Could it be a turning point in the brutal civil war?". CNN.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. 1 2 "Milestone as MNDAA Claims Capture of Myanmar Junta's NE Command in Lashio". The Irrawaddy. 25 July 2024.
  3. 1 2 Myanmar Military Deputy Commander Killed After Retreating to Hilltop Base in Lashio, 30 July 2024
  4. 1 2 3 Senior military officials surrender in Lashio; Backlash against Brotherhood Alliance over civilian deaths, 6 August 2024
  5. ↑ "Brotherhood Alliance Seizes Another Ethnic Zone in Myanmar's northern Shan State". The Irrawaddy . December 23, 2023. Archived from the original on 23 December 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 Myanmar’s Resistance Is Making Major Advances, 14 August 2024
  7. ↑ https://www.163.com/dy/article/J8RJFPTH05567YBO.html
  8. ↑ လားရှိုးမြို့ နှစ်ဘက်တိုက်ပွဲအတွင်း အရပ်သား (၃၀၀) ကျော်သေဆုံး, 22 August 2024
  9. 1 2 Junta attacks TNLA violating northern Shan peace agreement. June 12, 2024 Mizzima
  10. ↑ Rifle Fire Audible in Lashio as Rebels Encircle Myanmar Junta Stronghold. The Irrawaddy. July 4, 2024
  11. ↑ Civilians Flee as Noose Tightens on Myanmar Junta’s NE Command Headquarters. The Irrawaddy. July 5, 2024
  12. ↑ Clashes break out near Myanmar military regional command. July 3, 2024. The Straits Times
  13. ↑ Three Brotherhood Alliance Deploys Drones to Bombard Junta Regional Headquarters in Lashio. Burma News International. July 4, 2024
  14. ↑ "Surrounded Myanmar Junta Troops Shell Civilians, Blow Bridges in Lashio". The Irrawaddy. 4 January 2024.
  15. ↑ "Ceasefire between Brotherhood Alliance and Myanmar military ends in northern Shan State". Myanmar Now. 25 June 2024.
  16. ↑ "TNLA Seizes Town and Myanmar Regime Positions in Northern Shan State". The Irrawaddy. 26 June 2024.
  17. ↑ "Military shells, bombs Kyaukme as clashes continue in northern Shan State, Mandalay Region". Myanmar Now. 1 July 2024.
  18. ↑ "Brotherhood Alliance Targets Junta Command in Lashio". The Irrawaddy. 4 July 2024.
  19. ↑ "Civilians Flee as Noose Tightens on Myanmar Junta's NE Command Headquarters". The Irrawaddy. 5 July 2024.
  20. ↑ "Myanmar Junta Troops Surrender Key Shan Base, Ethnic Armies Advance Into Lashio". The Irrawaddy. 6 July 2024.
  21. ↑ "MNDAA Announces Four-Day Halt in Fighting in Myanmar's N. Shan". The Irrawaddy. 15 July 2024. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  22. ↑ Despite ‘ceasefire’, Brotherhood Alliance forces fight their way to northern Shan State capital, 17 July 2024
  23. ↑ "လားရှိုးဝင်ပေါက် ခလရ ၆၈ ကို MNDAA သိမ်း".
  24. ↑ လားရှိုး ခလရ ၆၈ ကို မြောက်ပိုင်းမဟာမိတ်တပ်များက အပြီးသတ် တိုက် ခိုက် သိမ်းပိုက်လိုက်ပြီး စစ်တပ်ဘက်မှ အလောင်းများနှင့် လက်နက်ခဲယမ်းများ သိမ်းဆည်းရရှိ, 23 July 2024
  25. ↑ Kokang army says it has captured Myanmar junta’s Northeastern Regional Military Command HQ, 25 July 2024
  26. ↑ Myanmar Junta Orders its Staff to Leave Lashio, 26 July 2024
  27. ↑ Heavy fighting erupts in Lashio: clashes at motel, university, and around Mansu Pagoda, 26 July 2024
  28. ↑ လားရှိုးလေယာဉ်ကွင်းနှင့် မြို့တစ်ဝက်နီးပါးကို MNDAA ကိုးကန့်တပ် ထိန်းချုပ်လိုက်ပြီ, 26 July 2024
  29. ↑ Locals Report MNDAA Yet to Fully Capture Lashio, 27 July 2024
  30. ↑ လားရှိုးမှာ စစ်ကောင်စီတပ်ရင်းနှစ်ခုနဲ့ တိုးဂိတ်ကို သိမ်းယူခဲ့ကြောင်း MNDAA ထုတ်ပြန်, 27 July 2024
  31. ↑ Myanmar insurgents free political prisoners in northern Shan state city, 29 July 2024
  32. ↑ MNDAA Ambushes Junta Reinforcement Convoy Heading to Lashio, Inflicts Heavy Casualties, 31 July 2024
  33. ↑ အရှေ့မြောက်တိုင်းစစ်ဌာနချုပ်တပ်ဝင်းအတွင်း တိုက်ပွဲများပြင်းထန်နေ, 1 August 2024
  34. ↑ France-Presse, Agence (2024-08-03). "Myanmar Airstrikes on Border Hospital Near China Kill 10: Media". The China-Global South Project. Retrieved 2024-08-05.
  35. ↑ Numerous vehicles captured by the MNDAA at the base of Supply & Logistics Battalion 626 in Lashio. XPCP+QF Lashio, Myanmar (Burma) – Geoconfirmed.org
  36. ↑ Myanmar airstrikes on border hospital near China kill 10: media, 2 August 2024
  37. ↑ "Over 100 reportedly killed in military hospital raid by MNDAA in Lashio". The Star. Retrieved 2024-08-04.
  38. ↑ "MNDAA detains 100+ people, including Lashio military hospital patients". nationthailand. 2024-08-03. Retrieved 2024-08-04.
  39. ↑ KawLah TV (2024-08-03). အားရတယ် . Retrieved 2024-08-04– via YouTube.
  40. ↑ MNDAA Claims Seizure of Myanmar Junta Command Headquarters, 3 August 2024
  41. ↑ Myanmar’s Wa Army Moves Forces Into Lashio, 29 July 2024
  42. ↑ Wa ethnic armed group deploys more fighters to northern Shan State capital, 8 August 2024
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