Junta mounts heavy offensive on Namtu and Mantong

By Admin 25 Oct 2025

DMG Newsroom

25 October 2025, Yangon

Myanmar’s military junta is pressing simultaneous offensives on Namtu and Mantong in northern Shan State, both controlled by the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), according to military sources.

After seizing Hsipaw on October 17, junta columns pushed toward Namtu and Mantong, while TNLA and allied forces mounted strong resistance, the sources said.

The Shan State Progress Party (SSPP) reported that junta columns advancing on Namtu have reached as far as the Moete Bridge near Moete Village on the Hsipaw–Namtu township boundary.

A military analyst said the twin thrusts on Namtu and Mantong appear aimed at encircling and blockading Mogok to wear down resistance there. “They could try to take Mogok now, but instead they’re striking Namtu and Mantong, tightening a ring around Mogok and waiting to scoop it up once defenders are weakened,” an observer from northern Shan assessed.

From Hsipaw, the junta is driving one column toward Mantong while carrying out heavy airstrikes on both Namtu and Mantong. On October 23, the TNLA said the air force bombed near the Thatala Workers’ Quarter [orig: “Thata La”] and a vocational training school on the south bank of the Namtu stream.

From October 1–24, the junta conducted 36 air raids across northern Shan: two on Mantong, two on Kyaukme, six on Hsipaw, three on Mongngaw, four on Monglon, six on Namhsan, six on Namtu, three on Mongmit (Momeik), and four on Mogok, according to TNLA tallies.

Those attacks killed 47 civilians — 10 children, 16 men and 21 women — and injured 65 people — 25 children, 19 men, 19 women and two monks — the group said.

Analysts warn that with battlefield momentum shifting in parts of northern Shan, the junta is likely to intensify efforts to crush resistance forces; some argue a new operation on the scale of “Operation 1027” may be needed to blunt the offensive.

“The junta was badly hit during 1027 and never got over it. Now they’re coming back hard. They won’t be restrained domestically so long as they can lean on China and Russia,” said a political science student based in Thailand.

As columns move closer to town limits, many residents of Namtu are fleeing, and frequent airstrikes have heightened public fear.

Observers add that beyond Chinese backing, the junta is exploiting a lull in resistance offensives elsewhere to mass forces against the TNLA. “Beijing has applied pressure after 1027 — pushing talks, discouraging UWSA support, and seeing MNDAA hand back Lashio. China doesn’t want its Lashio–Muse–Mandalay corridor disrupted. With nationwide resistance tempo down, the junta can now throw weight at the TNLA,” analyst Maung Ta Ma said.

Political observers say the junta is striving to retake territory it lost nationwide and to create conditions to stage elections in those areas.

During Operation 1027, the TNLA captured up to 12 towns in northern Shan. It has since lost Naungcho (Nawnghkio), Kyaukme and Hsipaw, while the junta is trying to seize Mogok, Namtu and Mantong. For now, the TNLA still controls Namhsan, Monglon, Mongmit (Momeik), Mantong, Namtu, Kutkai, Namkham, Mongngaw and Mogok.