Myanmar Army Retakes Key Trade Town in Rare Battlefield Win

[geovalin]

The Irrawaddy

 

 

Myanmar’s military has reclaimed the strategic town of Nawnghkio in northern Shan State, marking its first major victory against ethnic rebel forces this year and a rare reversal after months of battlefield losses.

 

Nawnghkio, seized last July by the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), sits on the Mandalay-Lashio highway—one of the country’s most important trade and military supply routes linking central Myanmar to China. The town’s recapture was confirmed on Wednesday, following nearly 11 months of fighting and over 500 skirmishes, according to the junta-run Myanma Alinn newspaper.

 

State media claimed the military had recovered the bodies of 171 resistance fighters and was now working to clear landmines and restore civil services. Independent verification is near impossible due to restrictions on reporting from the frontlines.

 

The TNLA, a member of the Three Brotherhood Alliance, did not contest the army’s claims. It acknowledged on Telegram that it had relocated its civil administration offices from Nawnghkio in recent weeks amid intensified junta attacks.

 

The fall of the town is a significant setback for the alliance, which had captured wide swathes of territory near the Chinese border since launching a coordinated offensive in late 2023. It also comes after the TNLA rejected calls from the regime—under Chinese mediation—to withdraw from several key towns, including Nawnghkio.

 

Observers attribute the army’s recent gains to a combination of growing drone use, support from local militias, and apparent pressure from Beijing. However, analysts also point to a series of tactical missteps by the TNLA. After successfully seizing major battalions in Nawnghkio and elsewhere, the rebels failed to secure nearby artillery bases and training centres, leaving themselves exposed to counterattacks.

 

The military’s advance may now threaten Thabeikkyin and potentially Mogoke—both located closer to Mandalay and long seen as gateways to central Myanmar.

 

This latest success comes amid broader regime efforts to retake territory ahead of planned elections later this year, widely dismissed as an attempt to legitimise military rule. While the junta has been on the defensive since its 2021 coup, the capture of Nawnghkio suggests it still retains the capacity to strike back—at least in selected strategic zones.

 

-2025-07-18