Chinese monitors deployed to strategic Lashio as junta slowly retakes town
This photo taken on April 9, 2025 shows members of the police force of the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) ethnic armed group patrolling in Lashio in Myanmar's northern Shan State. (Photo by AFP)
In a dramatic turn of events in Myanmar’s civil war, the strategic town of Lashio, captured last year by the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), has now been handed over to the junta in recent days in a process directly orchestrated by China.
A Chinese delegation, led by Special Envoy Deng Xijun, arrived in Lashio, the capital of northern Shan State, over the weekend to facilitate the handover and oversee the ongoing ceasefire process between the Myanmar military regime and the Kokang-led MNDAA, according to local sources.
Residents told Myanmar Now on Monday that negotiations between the junta and the Kokang Army are still underway, with a hotel hosting the meetings heavily guarded by security forces since Friday.
A convoy bearing Chinese flags and a sign reading “Ceasefire Monitoring Group” was also seen moving through Lashio over the weekend, further confirming China’s direct role in supervising. . .
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