Tensions between Ta’ang National Liberation Army and People’s Defence Force over Mandalay’s Mogok town

The People’s Defence Force (PDF) and residents of Mogok Township in Mandalay Region told DVB on Monday that the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) has surrounded areas captured by the PDF with TNLA forces and artillery ahead of its scheduled withdrawal from the town and handover to regime forces by Nov. 29.

“The TNLA has aimed its artillery at [PDF] positions,” Soe Htay, a Mogok resident and pro-democracy activist, told DVB. He added that the TNLA controls the 88-mile (141 km) long road connecting Mogok to Pyin Oo Lwin Township, and that the PDF controls the 69-mile (111 km) long road between the Phawtaw junction in Mandalay Region to Momeik Township in northern Shan State.

Soe Htay said that the TNLA is set to escort regime forces through the Mogok-Pyin Oo Lwin road from Shan State’s Kyaukme Township, which was recaptured by regime forces from the TNLA on Oct. 1. 

DVB contacted Lway Yay Oo, the TNLA spokesperson, for comment but has received no response. Mogok, 124 miles (200 km) north of Mandalay, is a source of revenue for both the regime and ethnic armed groups due to its lucrative ruby mining industry.