Kokang is a region in Myanmar. It is located in the northern part of Shan State, with the Salween River to its west, and sharing a border with China's Yunnan Province to the east. Its total land area is around 1,895 square kilometers (732 sq mi). The capital is Laukkai. Kokang is mostly populated by Kokang Chinese, a Han Chinese group living in Myanmar.
The United Wa State Army, abbreviated as the UWSA or the UWS Army, is the military wing of the United Wa State Party (UWSP), the de facto ruling party of Wa State in Myanmar. It is a well-equipped ethnic minority army of an estimated 20,000–30,000 Wa soldiers, led by Bao Youxiang. The UWSA was formed after the collapse of the armed wing of the Communist Party of Burma (CPB) in 1989.
The Kokang incident was a violent series of skirmishes that broke out in August 2009 in Kokang in Myanmar's northern Shan State. Several clashes between ethnic minorities and the Burmese military junta forces took place. As a result of the conflict, the MNDAA lost control of the area and as many as 30,000 refugees fled to Yunnan in neighbouring China.
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.
The Kokang people are Mandarin-speaking Han Chinese native to Kokang in Myanmar, administered as the Kokang Self-Administered Zone.
Pheung Kya-shin was the chairman of the Shan State Special Region No. 1 in Myanmar (Burma) and the leader of the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) from 1989 to 2009.
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).
Mong Ko, sometimes spelled Mongko or Monekoe and also known as Man Kan, Man Guo and Panglong, is a town in Mu Se Township, Mu Se District, northern Shan State, 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.
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.
Bai Suocheng or Bai Xuoqian is a Kokang politician from Shan State, Myanmar. He was a former deputy commander of the Myanmar Nationalities Democratic Alliance Army who later became the MP of the Amyotha Hluttaw representing Laukkai and first leader of the Kokang Self-Administered Zone. In 2024 he was extradited to China for running online and telephone scam centres.
The Northern Alliance, officially the Northern Alliance – Burma, is a military coalition in Myanmar composed of four ethnic insurgent groups: the Arakan Army (AA), the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA). Since December 2016, the Northern Alliance has been in fierce military confrontations with the Tatmadaw in the towns of Muse, Mong Ko, Pang Hseng, Namhkam and Kutkai in Shan State. The Northern Alliance members are also part of the Federal Political Negotiation and Consultative Committee (FPNCC).
Nang Yin, commonly known as Daw Nang Yin, also known as her Chinese name Peng Xinchun, is the current First Lady of Shan State Special region 4 and wife of Sai Leun, the chairman of the National Democratic Alliance Army and the leader of the Shan State Special region 4. She has high-ranking position in the Peace and Solidarity Committee (PSC) of Shan State-East. Nang was a major contributor to peace talks between National Democratic Alliance Army and the government of Myanmar.
Sai Leun, commonly known as U Sai Leun, was the chairman of the National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA) and the leader of the Shan State Special region 4.
The Federal Political Negotiation and Consultative Committee is an alliance and coalition of seven ethnic armed organisations (EAOs) in Myanmar seeking to negotiate with the central government. Four FPNCC members – the Arakan Army (AA), the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) – are also members of the Northern Alliance. The FPNCC is the largest negotiating body of EAOs in the country. The Chinese government formally engages with the FPNCC, which is also recognised by the Chinese government as an EAO negotiation body with the Burmese central government.
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.
Peng Daxun, also known as Peng Deren, is a Burmese Kokang military leader serving as commander of the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) since 2009. He is the son of Pheung Kya-shin, his immediate predecessor as commander of the MNDAA, and has waged a war against the Tatmadaw and government of Myanmar to reclaim control over Kokang.
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.
The attempted assassination of Bai Yingneng was the first attack by the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) on Tatmadaw-aligned Kokang Border Guard Forces in Kokang, Myanmar. On February 5, 2021, MNDAA fighters ambushed a convoy transporting ousted governor Bai Yingmeng, the son of former Kokang leader Bai Suocheng, killing nine civilians and three of Bai's bodyguards.
