Month of fighting leaves once-bustling Myanmar town eerily quiet
2024.09.04
The outskirts of Kyaukme township, Aug. 30, 2024, after the Ta’ang National Liberation Army took control.
RFAThe normally bustling town of Kyaukme in northern Myanmar’s Shan state is a shadow of its former self one month after ethnic rebels captured it from the military, according to residents who say they won’t return because they fear retaliation from the junta.
On Aug. 5, the Ta’ang National Liberation Army, or TNLA, and allied forces seized control of Kyaukme after more than a month of fighting by taking over the junta’s Military Operations Command No. 1, about 1.5 km (a mile) outside of the town, as well as two junta Light Infantry Battalions bases inside it.
During the weeks of fighting, the junta dropped 500-pound bombs and fired heavy weapons to defend its positions, destroying many of the town’s buildings and forcing many of its more than 40,000 inhabitants to flee for their safety.
Residents say that more than 400 people – including civilians, junta troops and rebel fighters – were killed in the clashes. The Kyaukme-based Namp Khone Tai Charitable Organization said it collected 219 bodies for burial in the first eight days after the town fell to the TNLA.
Nearly a month later, the town feels empty, said Nwe Nwe, a vendor at the fresh market in Kyaukme’s Ti Lin ward.
“Sales haven’t returned to normal, as not all residents have come back,” she told RFA Burmese. “Only a few [people] can be seen in the downtown area. The major shops remain closed.”
Most residents continue to take refuge in Nawng Ping and Sa Khan Thar villages, located around 16 km (10 miles) outside of Kyaukme, while others have relocated to the Shan state capital of Taunggyi, about 290 km (180 miles) to the south, or southwest to Mandalay region.
‘None of us dare go back’
Displaced residents told RFA that they won’t return home while the threat of junta airstrikes remains.
On Aug. 27 and 29, when some residents returned to Kyaukme to check on their homes, the junta dropped bombs on the town’s police station and State High School No. 2, said one of the displaced, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to security concerns.
"While the displaced from Kyaukme were preparing to return home, the first group of returnees came back to the camp after the junta attacked with three 500-pound bombs,” he said. “Now, none of us dare go back, and meanwhile, some new displaced residents [from Kyaukme] have arrived at our shelter.”
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Other residents of Kyaukme told RFA that their homes and shops were looted after they fled the fighting.
Ma Khaing said she and her family members “fled with whatever we could carry” in the middle of a junta artillery attack, only to learn that thieves ransacked her home while she was gone.
“Every item from our house was taken,” she said. “We have no idea how to resume our lives.”
Picking up the pieces
In the meantime, the TNLA said it has deployed a “police force” to provide security and law enforcement in Kyaukme, although judicial, medical and other administrative services have yet to resume.
After the junta lost Kyaukme, it restricted the transportation of goods, causing prices to nearly double, according to merchant Nyi Nyi Lwin.
“The prices of commodities, including fuel, have skyrocketed,” he said.
Electricity and mobile communications also have yet to be restored, and residents said they expect it will take time for the banking system to come back online.
While residents of Kyaukme pick up the pieces, intense fighting between the TNLA and junta forces continues in nearby Nawnghkio and Hsipaw townships, they said.
Translated by Aung Naing. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster.
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