The highway connecting Mandalay City with Mogok Town in Mandalay Region has been reopened after the junta regained control of key villages along the route.
The Mogok–Mandalay highway, which passes through Thabeikkyin, Singu, and Madaya towns in Mandalay Region, reopened on the morning of January 21, according to motorists in the area. The reopening came shortly after the regime troops retook Kyaukhlebee and Shwenyaungpin villages along the highway.
“The road is open again, but we’re still waiting to see how many cars will actually come intoMogok. So far, only a few vehicles are heading out to Mandalay. The news about the reopening is true, but bus fares haven’t come down yet. They’re still charging the higher prices from when longer routes were being used during the closure," said a Mogok resident.
On January 20, junta columns entered Shwenyaungpin and Malepauk villages along the highway, where locals welcomed them, it announced. The coup regime also claimed that the reopening of the road has allowed container trucks to enter Mogok Town.
Under a ceasefire agreement, Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) troops withdrew from Mogok late last year, allowing it to regain control of the area. Although clashes between it and resistance forces including the People’s Defence Force (PDF), a former TNLA ally, continued along the highway, the junta has now fully regained control of the road.
On January 19, the first group of junta civilian staff returned to Mogok to re-establish the town’s administration. A second group is expected to arrive in the coming days.
