Naypyidaw [Myanmar], October 19: Myanmar's military government announced on October 18 that it had retaken a town on a trade route to China from an ethnic armed group in northern Myanmar.
The Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported on October 18 that after a 16-day campaign, on October 16, the Myanmar military government completely recaptured the town of Hsipaw in Shan State in northern Myanmar.
Hsipaw is home to about 20,000 people and lies on the highway connecting Mandalay, Myanmar's second-largest city, with the Chinese border , according to AFP.
Shan State has been rocked by fighting since June 2024 when a coalition of armed groups continued to attack troops along the highway to China's Yunnan province, according to AFP.
The Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) opposition armed group captured the last remaining military base in Hsipaw town in October 2024 after weeks of fighting.
According to the Global New Light of Myanmar , there were 28 clashes and "battles" in the two weeks before the Myanmar military government retook Hsipaw. The army also "captured 13 bodies of terrorists," referring to members of the TNLA.
Meanwhile, the TNLA wrote on the messaging app Telegram on October 17: "The military council is committing war crimes against innocent civilians... using manpower, heavy weapons, drones or airstrikes." The TNLA also reported that 29 people had been killed since the military government began its latest offensive.
Since the coup on February 1, 2021, TNLA, one of Myanmar's most powerful armed opposition groups, has controlled more than 10 key towns in Shan State, the country's main ruby mining center.
Fighting between the TNLA and the Myanmar military has caused widespread destruction in the Shan state town of Kyaukme, another important town on the trade route from Mandalay to the Chinese border. The military retook control of Kyaukme earlier this month, according to AFP.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
