Myanmar Rebel Group Claims Capture of Major Military HQ in Shan State

A Myanmar rebel group claims to have seized a major regional military headquarters in the city of Lashio near the border with China, in what would mark a historic and humiliating defeat for the country's military junta. For what it's worth, the military State Administration Council, the junta's official name, denied that the Northeastern Regional Command had been overrun, with spokesperson Zaw Min Tun stating that its forces military were currently conducting clearance operations near the headquarters. After a five-month pause in hostilities due to a Chinese government-brokered ceasefire in January, the TNLA, backed up by allied People's Defense Forces opposed to military rule, opened the second phase of Operation 1027 in Shan State and Mandalay Region in late June. It would also be a "Major strategic blow" to the SAC in the context of the current civil war, Morgan Michaels of the International Institute of Strategic Studies told the Associated Press, describing it as "The junta's last major line of defense in northern Shan State." As The Irrawaddy explains, the Northeastern Command, one of 13 regional military commands, "Oversees military operations across northern Shan State, including areas near the Chinese border." As a result, the loss of Lashio would potentially lead to the total collapse of the Myanmar military's presence in northern Shan State, with cascading effects in other parts of Shan and Mandalay Region. At the same time, the MNDAA's capture of Lashio would create a host of complications that might slow its military advance. While much remains uncertain, it is clear that the fast-moving events in northern Shan State could mark a significant watershed in the complex ethnic politics of Shan State, and in the country's civil war as a whole.