Armed ethnic alliance in northern Myanmar is said to have seized a city that was a key goal

BANGKOK (AP) — An alliance of ethnic armed groups in northeastern Myanmar has reportedly achieved one of the main goals it set when it launched an offensive last October by taking control of Laukkaing, a key city on the border with China, according to local residents and independent media accounts on Friday.

The Three Brotherhood Alliance — comprising the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, or MNDAA, the Ta’ang National Liberation Army and the Arakan Army — took control of Laukkaing late Thursday after forces of the country’s military government reportedly laid down their arms and were allowed to withdraw, according to reports that have not yet been officially confirmed by either side.

Laukkaing is the capital of Kokang Self-Administered Zone, geographically part of northern Shan state. The MNDAA is a military force of the Kokang minority, who are ethnic Chinese.

The city’s fall to the alliance is the biggest in a series of defeats suffered by Myanmar’s military government since the offensive was launched, underlining the pressure it is under as it battles pro-democracy guerrillas and other ethnic minority armed groups across the country.

Ethnic armed organizations have battled for greater autonomy on and off for decades, but Myanmar has been wracked by what amounts to civil war since the army seized power in February 2021 from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, sparking nationwide armed resistance by pro-democracy forces.

Whether the Three Brotherhood Alliance will try to extend its offensive outside of Shan state is not yet clear, though it has vowed to keep fighting against military rule. The Arakan Army is also engaged in combat on its home ground in Rakhine state in western Myanmar.

Key to Thursday’s