Mizzima and RFA
The junta has declared martial law in three northern Shan State towns currently under the control of the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), causing residents to worry that junta attacks are imminent.
The junta’s North Eastern Military Command was put in charge of the towns of Namsan, Mantong and Namtu in northern Shan State. The order was made under Article 419 of the constitution to allegedly uphold the rule of law and promote peace in the region.
But currently, the junta holds none of the towns. Namsan, Mantong and Namtu were captured by the TNLA on 15, 22 and 28 December 2023, respectively.
The AA’s top leadership has regularly conducted public meetings with what they say is an emphasis on a “community-based governance system” in the townships, according to RFA.
In Namtu, municipal, healthcare and electricity services have been restored, according to residents who spoke to RFA, and inhabitants who fled earlier fighting have mostly returned home.
Residents told RFA Burmese that the declaration of martial law came “just as the situation began to stabilize,” and said they now fear renewed clashes between the military and the TNLA.
“We are now under TNLA governance, and the junta no longer exists here…Now that martial law has been declared, it’s as if they could attack us whenever they want”, said a Namtu resident.
All three townships are within 160 kilometers (100 miles) of the Northeastern Command, the resident noted, which “adds to our unease.”
“We may need to prepare trenches and bomb shelters once again,” she said.
A resident of Namsan told RFA that while the situation in her township wasn’t safe before, “now it feels even less secure.”
“The use of airplanes to drop bombs and the indiscriminate use of heavy weaponry add to our concerns,” she said. “While some people have not yet returned to their homes, others have just come back.”
The declaration of martial law in Namsan, Mantong and Namtu was made after the junta returned from Chinese-brokered peace talks, held in Kunming, China from 1 to 3 March, with representatives from the
Three Brotherhood Alliance made up of the TNLA, the Arakan Army (AA), and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA).
Observers said to RFA that the junta had refrained from declaring martial law in Namhsan, Mantong and Namtu townships in northern Shan state because they hoped the TNLA, would join a ceasefire agreement. They added that the imposition of martial law shows that any negotiations have stalled.
These most recent impositions of martial law followed the junta’s 28 February announcement of martial law in the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) controlled townships Mongmit and Mabein in northern Shan State.
As of 4 March the junta has declared martial law in 61 townships with a combined population of 8.2 million people, according to data aggregation agency, Data for Myanmar. Martial law was declared in eight townships in 2021, 48 townships in 2023 and five townships so far in 2024.
