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The Myanmar junta entered a city in the north near the Chinese border on Tuesday abandoned by a rebellious army after months of occupation, Radio free Asia residents told Radio.
The army of the National Alliance of Myanmar, or MNDAA, is one of the many insurgent groups fighting the junta which seized power in a coup in 2021 for autonomy and democracy. He controls parts of northern Shan and until recently, the city of Lashio for a long time. Frequent conflicts and air strikes have forced a large part of the population to flee and reduces certain rooms to looted rubble.
Junta soldiers returned to Lashio early Tuesday morning to recover the city abandoned by the days of MNDAA before, said a resident.
“From near the town hall to the entrance to the city, it was full of cars, at least 50 years. Some soldiers got off the cars with military uniforms and black masks, then I saw that they had machine guns mounted on the car,” he said, identifying the group as divisions 33, 99 and 77.
“I think they are waiting for the troops to be fully equipped before redeploying.”
On Friday, the MNDAA withdrew the staff, offices and the equipment of the city, making end preparations on Tuesday, the residents said. Some added that they were concerned about the large number of soldiers entering the city.
The MNDAA and the Junta began negotiations of commercial ceasefire on January 18 in the city of Kunming in the province of Yunnan and agreed to withdraw from Lashio within three months, they said.
Representatives of MNDAA and Junta met the Chinese representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Asia Deng Xijun at Two Elephants Hotel in Lashio to discuss the transfer, residents said.
The junta has not published any information on the transition.
Asked about reports on the withdrawal of the MNDAA, the spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry Guo Jiakun neither confirmed him either.
“China and Myanmar are friendly neighbors. China’s position on Myanmar’s issue is very clear,” he said in a regular briefing on Tuesday.
“We follow the principle of non-interference in internal affairs of other countries, we support Myanmar in the safeguarding of independence, sovereignty, national unity and territorial integrity, support various parties in Myanmar to carry out a friendly consultation towards political reconciliation and support Myanmar to use the political transition process.”
The MNDAA captured Lashio in August 2024 as part of operation 1027, a joint mission with two other insurgent armies to capture lands of the Myanmar army.
RFA’s attempts to contact the junta, the MNDAA and the Chinese Myanmar embassy remained unanswered.
Translated by Kiana Duncan. Published by Tajun Kang and Mike Firn.