MNDAA Tightens Grip on Northern Shan Trade Routes

The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) has consolidated control in northern Shan State after seizing Kutkai—a town on the Mandalay-Muse highway (AH14)—from its Brotherhood Alliance ally, the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA). The Chinese‑speaking armed group now dominates almost all major trade routes in northern Shan that link Myanmar to China’s Yunnan Province.