Junta airstrikes on the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA)-held towns of Naungcho (Nawnghkio) in Shan State on 13 May 2025 destroyed seven houses.
At around 9:00 pm on 13 May, a junta aircraft dropped a 500 pound bomb on Zay Ward in Naungcho Town, destroying seven houses, even though there was no fighting in the area, according to a 14 May press release issued by the TNLA.
This was the latest of many recent junta airstrikes on TNLA-held territory, which have increased since China mediated peace talks between the junta and the TNLA collapsed on 29 April 2025.
A resident of Naungcho Town said to Shan Herald: “The explosion last night was really loud. Zay Ward has been bombed before, so when people heard the talks had failed, they evacuated early. No one was hurt, but seven houses were destroyed.”
An hour later, at 10:00 pm, a junta airstrike hit the TNLA and resistance force-held Infantry Battalion (IB) 148 base in Kyaukhlebee Village in Mandalay Region’s Thabeikkyin Township, on the road from Mandalay to Mogok.
Also, later that night, at 12:00 am on 14 May, as most people slept, a junta jet dropped bombs on Mandalay Region’s Mogok Town, also under TNLA control. The bombing caused explosions close to the four-storey Golden Butterfly Hotel.
On 12 May, junta airstrikes hit the TNLA-controlled towns of Manton and Mongngawt in northern Shan State. One civilian was killed, five were injured and 27 houses were damaged or destroyed.
On 8 May, 10 people were killed in the TNLA-held village of Thayetcho in Naungcho Township by artillery fire from the junta’s Artillery Battalion 902 headquarters, in Taung Hkam Village, also in Naungcho Township.
A resident of Thayetcho Village said: “In Thayetcho Village, an artillery shell hit a wedding ceremony, instantly killing four people, including a child. Two days later, six more people, including some who were receiving medical treatment, passed away.”
These attacks happened during the junta’s unilateral ceasefire that it announced would run from 6 to 31 May 2025. But, despite announcing the ceasefire, the junta has not stuck to it. Ever since the first day of the ceasefire, 6 May, the junta has carried out drone strikes, airstrikes, and artillery attacks on TNLA-controlled areas, according to the TNLA.
The TNLA has urged people who live in the areas it controls to remain vigilant for junta attacks.
Representatives of the junta and 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, 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.
