Myanmar Junta Retakes Key Trade Town Amid Fierce Clashes

Kyaw Swar

Myanmar’s military junta has recaptured the strategic town of Hsipaw in northern Shan State, following a 16-day offensive against the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), one of the country’s most powerful ethnic armed groups. The town lies on a vital trade route linking Mandalay to China’s Yunnan province, through which billions of dollars in goods pass annually.

The state-run Global New Light of Myanmar confirmed the reoccupation on 16 October, reporting 28 clashes and the seizure of 13 TNLA fighters’ bodies. The TNLA, which had taken control of Hsipaw last year, accused the junta of committing war crimes during the assault, claiming 29 civilian deaths through airstrikes, drone attacks, and ground raids.

Since the 2021 coup, Myanmar has been engulfed in conflict between the military and a patchwork of ethnic armed groups and resistance forces. The TNLA has expanded its territorial control, capturing key towns and the country’s main ruby-mining hub.

The junta’s campaign has left a trail of destruction. In Kyaukme township, also on the China trade corridor, fighting earlier this month led to widespread damage. Meanwhile, in southern Shan State’s Ywangan Township, the Shan Human Rights Foundation reported that junta troops burned down 60 homes and 90 granaries between August and September, looted livestock, and razed an IDP camp. Six villagers, including an eight-year-old girl, were reportedly arrested.

Military units from Light Infantry Divisions 55 and 99 remain stationed in the area, with nearly 500 displaced civilians sheltering in nearby forests, facing urgent shortages of food and shelter.

The recapture of Hsipaw underscores the junta’s determination to secure trade routes and suppress resistance, but it also highlights the escalating humanitarian crisis and the deepening scars of Myanmar’s ongoing civil conflict.

-2025-10-20