Chinese monitors deployed to strategic Lashio as junta slowly retakes town

In a dramatic turn of events in Myanmar’s civil war, the strategic town of Lashio, captured last year by the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), has now been handed over to the junta in recent days in a process directly orchestrated by China.

A Chinese delegation, led by Special Envoy Deng Xijun, arrived in Lashio, the capital of northern Shan State, over the weekend to facilitate the handover and oversee the ongoing ceasefire process between the Myanmar military regime and the Kokang-led MNDAA, according to local sources.

Residents told Myanmar Now on Monday that negotiations between the junta and the Kokang Army are still underway, with a hotel hosting the meetings heavily guarded by security forces since Friday.