BANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar ‘s military has recaptured a strategic gateway town from rebel forces after nearly a year, state-media reported Thursday, marking a rare turnaround in the country’s northeast, where an alliance of ethnic militias seized a large swath of territory in an offensive that began in late 2023.
Nawnghkio, which sits on a major highway trading route linking central Myanmar to China, had been under the control of the Ta’ang National Liberation Army, or TNLA, a group in the Three Brotherhood Alliance, since July last year.
Its recapture by the army comes after a long period where the military government had been seen as being on the defensive against an array of rebel forces in the civil war that is being fought over much of the country.
Nawnghkio, which also stands on the highway leading to the major military garrison town of Pyin Oo Lwin, was completely captured by the army at noon on Wednesday after nearly 11 months of operations to retake the town, according to a state-run Myanma Alinn newspaper report on Thursday.
After more than 500 armed engagements, including 20 major clashes, the bodies of 171 members of the TNLA and its allies were recovered and their ammunition supplies were captured, the report said, adding that the military was working to restore the town’s administrative mechanisms, remove land mines and ensure the safe return of residents who had fled to avoid fighting.
