Irrawaddy-Nov 25
Tensions remain high in northern Shan State’s Lashio Township after rebels’ China-brokered handover of the state capital to the military regime. Further negotiations earlier this month between the junta and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) failed, and both sides continue to block roads and reinforce their positions. During a routine meeting on Nov. 11, junta officials demanded that MNDAA troops withdraw from National Highway 3 between Lashio and Hsipaw. When the rebels refused, junta forces unilaterally closed the road at Hsipaw, while the MNDAA blocked Road 44 to Namlan. A source close to the MNDAA told The Irrawaddy that talks between the two sides have failed to reopen the routes. The contested road was seized by the MNDAA during the August 2024 battle for Lashio. Under heavy pressure from China, it returned the city to the regime in early April but continues to control the countryside as well as the road to Hsipaw. That means the junta only controls 12 urban wards in Lashio. Since it is home to its Northeastern Command, the road is a vital supply line. The regime on Nov. 15 closed Hsipaw Bridge, where Highway 3 loops over the Myitnge River just outside town. The MNDAA then redeployed troops to villages along Road 3 to Lashio and Road 44 going south, according to sources close to the armed group. Traders complain that the junta’s closure of Hsipaw Bridge has disrupted cross-border trade again, forcing hundreds of trucks carrying Chinese imports to go the long way round to Mandalay via Mongyai and Taunggyi. On Nov. 18, the MNDAA released more than 200 junta soldiers captured during the Lashio battle, but tensions persist, with the junta reinforcing troops at Muse, the only town on the Chinese border under its control. Read more at: https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/war-against-the-junta/tensions-remain-high-around-lashio-after-handover-to-junta.html
