The junta has advanced to positions four miles outside the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA)-held Naungcho (Nawnghkio) Town after moving into TNLA-controlled Naungcho Township at the beginning of July.
The TNLA took full control of Naungcho Town on 26 June 2024 and had the rest of Naungcho Township under its control by July 2024, during the second phase of Operation 1027.
But, in the first week of July 2025, the junta launched an offensive in Naungcho Township. Now, thousands of junta soldiers are within four miles (about 6.5km) of Naungcho Town and moving towards the town, according to a resident of Naungcho Town, though Shan Herald has been unable to independently confirm this.
The Naungcho Town resident said to Shan Herald: “The junta columns started moving out from Ongmahkar Village and are now getting close to Kyaukkyan Village [both in Naungcho Township]. They’re using drones to carry out precision strikes on TNLA positions, and some of those strikes are hitting their targets. There are also rumours going around that the junta has deployed about 6,000 troops in an attempt to retake Naungcho Town.”
Currently there are junta soldiers in Kyaukkyan Village, about four miles from Naungcho Town and advancing towards the TNLA-controlled former Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 114 base, to the west of Naungcho Town.
The aforementioned Naungcho Town resident said: “We've heard that the TNLA has brought in more troops and weapons as reinforcements. But if the manpower gap becomes too wide, there's a real risk that Naungcho could fall back into the junta's hands. The town is already in ruins from the earlier fighting. Now, the sound of gunfire is getting closer, and the drone-dropped bombs are extremely loud. Even when the bombing happens farther away, every time we hear those explosions, we panic, and we don't know where to hide.”
In Naungcho Township, south of Naungcho Town, junta troops have advanced from Tawnghkam Village and have now reached Myetcheenu Village, about 4 miles south of Naungcho Town, where the TNLA and its allies are putting up strong resistance.
The ongoing fighting has forced residents of Naungcho Town and nearby villages to flee to Kyaukme Township and Nawngping Subtownship in Thibaw (Hsipaw Township) in northern Shan State. The approximately 2,000 displaced people (IDPs) are seeking shelter in schools and monasteries and are in urgent need of food and assistance.
The aforementioned Naungcho Town resident said: “Now there are hardly any people left in the downtown wards [of Naungcho Town]. Some have taken refuge out in the farmlands and forests. Right now, going to Pyin Oo Lwin Town [in Mandalay Region] just isn’t an option. And even if people try to flee toward Tawnghkam, they’re likely to run into advancing junta troops, so no one dares to go that way. That’s why most people are escaping along Gote Twin [Road, between the towns of Naungcho and Kyaukme] and heading toward Kyaukme and Nawngping.”
Representatives of the junta and the TNLA met at Chinese brokered peace talks in the Chinese city of Kunming on 28 and 29 April 2025. But, the talks failed when the TNLA refused the junta’s demands for the TNLA to give up five towns it has captured, Naungcho (Nawnghkio), Kyaukme, Thibaw (Hsipaw) and Momeik in northern Shan State and Mogok in Mandalay Region.
Shortly after the talks broke down the junta escalated its military operations against TNLA-controlled areas, launching airstrikes on the towns of Manton and Mongngawt in northern Shan State on 12 May and Naungcho Town on 13 May.
The TNLA and junta are expected to attend peace talks mediated by China in August.
