Nay Pyi Taw, 4 November
The junta chief has vowed to launch a counter-offensive against the allied forces involved in the Operation 1027, which has been seizing military bases and outposts of the military council.
General Min Aung Hlaing, who was attending one after another of the events, made this comment after losing four towns in northern Shan State in recent fighting.
The junta chief discussed Operation 1027 while meeting the chief ministers of the regions and states via video conference on November 2.
Min Aung Hlaing said that MNDAA and TNLA attacked security outposts and departmental offices in the Kokang region of Northern Shan State, and KIA attacked road and security outposts in Kachin State.
The junta chief officially announced that its army is making preparations and will continue to carry out counterattacks.
Lee Kyar Win, spokesperson of the MNDAA-Kokang, said, “We are always aware that the military council is going to respond to recent attacks. We are fully prepared.”
At the moment, the junta has conducted aerial bombing and air strikes in retaliation for recent attacks.
Regarding Operation 1027, the Chinese government, which has influence over the military council and the Brotherhood Alliance, has urged the relevant parties to cease fire and resolve the conflict.
Operation 1027 involved three ethnic armed groups, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), and the Arakan Army (AA), and the junta chief did not consider AA in the counter attack.
During Operation 1027, the AA led an attack on the junta base in Sagaing Region’s Hteechaik Township and collaborated with the KIA in the battle to seize Gang Dau Yang base in Kachin State.
Veteran Rakhine politician U Pe Than said, “Even if the AA is not taken into account, the military council’s statement that it will launch a counterattack will not be lenient to the AA.”
Than Lwin Times was unable to confirm whether the junta-controlled newspapers omitted the description of AA on purpose.
At present, the military council has deployed troops in many front lines all over the country in the nearly three years since the coup, and fighting in Northern Shan State, as well as Kachin, Sagaing, Magway, and Karen, has escalated.
On November 3, the allied resistance forces occupied the Min Ywar police outpost in Magway Rgion’s Gangaw District in Magway and the police stations and regime camps in Tamu, Kalay and Kawlin in Sagaing Region.
On the same day, it was reported that the TNLA captured the junta camp on the Shweli Bridge connecting the Mangwein road with Namkham in North Shan State with weapons and ammunition.
CDM Captain Zay Thu Aung from the Air Force said, “In this situation, the military leader will surely counterattack MNDAA, TLNA, and KIA, and the scope of the conflict will be wider. I believe that the fighting will escalate in Kachin State by targeting the KIO.”
He added that the military council will take time to re-attack the northern Shan region, and because they will be able to increase their strength in the battle with military convoys, the fighting in the Naung Cho-Lashio area will continue to intensify.
According to MNDAA spokesperson Lee Kyar Win, the Operation 1027 will not only end in Northern Shan State but will continue until the people’s expectations are met.
In the first week of Operation 1027, the Brotherhood Alliance captured at least 95 junta outposts and besieged four towns in northern Shan State.
News – Than Lwin Times
Photo: MOI
Thanlwintimes