SAC Blows Up Bridge Between Namtu and Hsipaw Townships
By Network Media Group
Saturday December 30, 2023
On Thursday evening, trucks were unable to cross the Mong Tay Bridge after soldiers from the State Administration Council (SAC) reportedly detonated explosives on the bridge linking Hsipaw and Namtu townships.
An anonymous local source informed NMG that the bridge in northern Shan State was destroyed at 7 pm. Although people improvised by fixing the bridge with timber planks, allowing motorbikes and small cars to pass, it is considered too perilous for heavy loads.
The army has also imposed restrictions on entering or leaving Hsipaw town, which is nearby. Many motorcyclists are now stranded at its checkpoint, where soldiers are scrutinizing IDs, mobile phones, and other belongings.
Another anonymous local source residing near Mong Tay Bridge suspected the regime’s involvement in the destruction. He claimed to have seen SAC soldiers beneath the bridge around the time of the incident. The source speculated that SAC might be apprehensive about Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) using the bridge to launch attacks on their positions around Hsipaw town.
The Ta’ang armed group had previously reported that soldiers from the junta’s Light Infantry Battalions 501 and 502, based in the town, detonated the bridge.
Residents of Manton, Namtu, and Hsipaw townships depended on Mong Tay Bridge for travel, especially after members of Three Brotherhood Alliance, including TNLA, destroyed several key bridges on the Union Highway between Mandalay and Lashio.
Three Brotherhoods Alliance has seized control of hundreds of SAC bases and numerous towns in northern Shan State, marking significant gains since the commencement of a major offensive on October 27. Various resistance forces across Burma have initiated offensives against the regime, which finds itself overstretched and overwhelmed by simultaneous engagements on multiple fronts.
