The Burmese army Tatmadaw is heading for its worst defeat in the escalating civil war engulfing Myanmar for nearly a year now as rebel troops have almost taken control of Lashio town on the border with China.
A worried China has called for immediate cessation of hostilities with a spokesman in Beijing appealing to both government and rebel soldiers not to harm Chinese businesses and its nationals who may have been caught up in the fighting.
The imminent loss of Lashio comes in a week Myanmar's military supremo Senior General Min Aung Hlaing declared himself President, replacing current incumbent Myint Swe and prompting sarcastic speculation that he has finally fulfilled his dream to be the official head of state.
But Hlaing's taking over presidency is possibly because he can no longer trust any other junta personality at the top after some senior officers said he would have to step down if the Tatmadaw lost Lashio, which, with a population of about 1,70,000, is the largest town and the administrative headquarters of northern Shan state, where the army's powerful North Eastern Command was based.
Early last Friday, rebels of the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) broke through the last defences of the regional military headquarters at Lashio near the border with China.
"The MNDAA fighters have infiltrated the Headquarters of the Northesst Command and heavy close quarter combat was reported from different parts of Lashio including the famous Mansu monastery," said a senior aid worker still in Lashio.
The MNDAA offensive against Lashio came after failed Chinese efforts to broker a peace deal between the military junta and the rebels groups in northern Myanmar and would therefore make Beijing uncomfortable. Lashio has been crucial to the Sino-Burmese border trade .
"Our army has won a decisive victory and is now clearing out the remaining enemy troops. The city is now declared completely liberated," the MNDAA, which is part of the powerful Brotherhood Alliance, said in a statement shared on social media.
Lashio, 120 kms from the border with China, fell after 23 days of heavy fighting. The MNDAA asked the city's population to remain calm and comply with its administration
The MNDAA is among several ethnic rebel groups on an offensive against the military junta after they stitched together the loose but effective Brotherhood Alliance to seize territories from the Army to end military control over Myanmar. The ensuing civil war has escalated in the months after the 1027 offensive by the rebels of the Brotherhood Alliance.
The military, which staged a coup in 2021 after a decade of limited democracy, has been severely stretched on multiple fronts across Myanmar (pop:53 million), hampering its grip on the country and its tottering economy.
The MNDAA launched its latest offensive after the recent collapse of a ceasefire brokered by China, which has been concerned about fighting at its border and its impact on trade.
China's foreign ministry has urged all sides to cease hostilities, enter into dialogue and ensure Chinese businesses and nationals were unharmed.
"We will continue to encourage peace and push for talks," spokesperson Mao Ning told a regular briefing.
According to an analysis earlier this year by the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar, the junta no longer has effective control of Myanmar, having lost authority over townships covering 86% of the country and two-thirds of the population.
But the military junta, despite unconfirmed reports of divisions at the top that may have prompted Min Aung Hlaing to take over the presidency, seems determined to fight on rather than start negotiations for a return to democracy by honoring the verdict of the last elections or holding a fresh one within a declared time frame.
