Myanmar's army is taking back territory with relentless air strikes - and China's help

59 minutes ago Share Save Jonathan Head South East Asia correspondent Share Save

AFP via Getty Images)

When insurgents finally gained control of the town of Kyaukme - on the main trade route from the Chinese border to the rest of Myanmar - it was after several months of hard fighting last year. Kyaukme straddles Asian Highway 14, more famous as the Burma Road during World War Two, and its capture by the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) was seen by many as a pivotal victory for the opposition. It suggested that the morale of the military junta which had seized power in 2021 might be crumbling. This month, though, it took just three weeks for the army to recapture Kyaukme. The fluctuating fate of this little hill town is a stark illustration of how far the military balance in Myanmar has now shifted, in favour of the junta. Kyakme has paid a heavy price. Large parts of the town have been flattened by daily air strikes carried out by the military while it was in the hands of the TNLA. Air force jets dropped 500-pound bombs, while artillery and drones hit insurgent positions outside the town. Much of the population fled the town, though they are starting to return now the military has retaken it. "There is heavy fighting going on every day, in Kyaukme and Hsipaw," Tar Parn La, a spokesman for the TNLA, told the BBC earlier this month. "This year the military has more soldiers, more heavy weapons, and more air power. We are trying our best to defend Hsipaw." Since the BBC spoke to him the junta's forces have also retaken Hsipaw, the last of the towns