The Muse offensive, also known as the Mong Ko offensive, was a joint military operation by members of the

Northern Alliance The Northern Alliance ( ''Da Šumāl E'tilāf'' or ''Ettehād Šumāl''), officially known as the United National Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan ( ''Jabha-ye Muttahid-e barāye Afğānistān''), was a military alliance of groups that op ...

, consisting of the

Arakan Army The Arakan Army (; Abbreviation, abbreviated AA), sometimes referred to as the Arakha Army is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnic-List of insurgent groups in Myanmar, armed organisation based in Rakhine State (Arakan). Founded in April 2009, the Ara ...

(AA), the

Kachin Independence Army The Kachin Independence Army (KIA; Kachin: ''Wunpawng Mungdan Shanglawt Hpyen Dap''; ) is a non-state armed group and the military wing of the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), a political group of ethnic Kachins in Northern Myanmar ...

(KIA), the

Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) is an armed Insurgency, resistance group in the Kokang region of Myanmar (Burma). The army has existed since 1989, having been the first one to sign a ceasefire agreement with the Burmese gov ...

(MNDAA) and the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA). The groups targeted towns and border posts along the

China–Myanmar border The China–Myanmar border is the international border between the territory of the People's Republic of China and Myanmar (formerly ''Burma''). The border is 2,129 km (1,323 mi) in length and runs from the tripoint with India in the nor ...

in Muse Township,

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

Timeline

On the morning of 20 November 2016, MNDAA and Arakan Army troops attacked the town of Mong Ko at 3:00 am ( MMT), KIA troops attacked the town of Pang Sai at 6:00 am, and two battalions of the TNLA's 5th Brigade attacked border police and army posts in Muse Township at 8:00 am. Eight people were killed in the attack—one soldier, three policemen and 4 civilians—whilst 26 others were wounded. The Myanmar Army responded to the attacks by shelling insurgent bases in Muse Township, and the Myanmar Air Force began launching more airstrikes in the area as well, resulting in several civilian casualties. Local charities and aid groups reported that 2,000 to 3,000

internally displaced An internally displaced person (IDP) is someone who is forced to leave their home but who remains within their country's borders. They are often referred to as refugees, although they do not fall within the legal definitions of a refugee. I ...

civilians fled to nearby

monasteries A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which m ...

in Muse Township following the clashes. After fighting had ceased in the town of

Muse In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...

on 23 November 2016, over 800 residents returned under the security of the Myanmar Army and local militias. However, some residents remained fearful and contradicted official reports that the fighting had ended, saying that they could still hear gunfire in the town. The

claimed complete control of Mong Ko on 25 November 2016; however, the

Myanmar Army The Myanmar Army (; ) is the largest branch of the Tatmadaw, the armed forces of Myanmar, and has the primary responsibility of conducting land-based military operations. The Myanmar Army maintains the second largest active force in Southea ...

recaptured the town on 4 December 2016, after Northern Alliance troops withdrew to avoid civilian casualties from

airstrike An airstrike, air strike, or air raid is an offensive operation carried out by aircraft. Air strikes are delivered from aircraft such as blimps, balloons, fighter aircraft, attack aircraft, bombers, attack helicopters, and drones. The official d ...

s by the

Myanmar Air Force The Myanmar Air Force (, ) is the aerial branch of the Tatmadaw, the armed forces of Myanmar. The primary mission of the Myanmar Air Force (MAF) since its inception has been to provide transport, logistical, and close air support to the Myanm ...

Aftermath

On 30 November 2016, a total of 16 people had died from the conflict, 51 had been wounded, 2,600 had been internally displaced, and 3,000 had fled to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. The

Uppsala Conflict Data Program The Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP) is a data collection program on organized violence, based at Uppsala University in Sweden. The UCDP is a leading provider of data on organized violence and armed conflict, and it is the oldest ongoing data ...

recorded 31 deaths: 10 combatants and 21 civilians. The violence severely reduced cross-border trade in the area between China and Myanmar, damaging the local economy that formerly saw $10 million

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...

worth of goods pass the border daily.

State Counsellor of Myanmar The State Counsellor of Myanmar () was the ''de facto'' head of government of Myanmar, equivalent to a prime minister, from 2016 to 2021. The office was created in 2016 after Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won the 2015 Myanmar ...

Aung San Suu Kyi Aung San Suu Kyi (born 19 June 1945) is a Burmese politician, diplomat, author, and political activist. She was awarded the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize. She served as State Counsellor of Myanmar and Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Myanmar), Ministe ...

made a statement on 23 November 2016, urging the Northern Alliance to cease hostilities and to sign the

Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement The Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA), officially the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement between the Government of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar and the Ethnic Armed Organisations (), was a landmark ceasefire agreement between the governmen ...

(NCA). A spokesperson for the TNLA later blamed the government for the fighting and for subsequent failed peace arrangements, citing the exclusion of the KIA from individual meetings as a deterrent for the Northern Alliance.

References

{{Reflist Conflicts in 2016 2016 in Myanmar Internal conflict in Myanmar Shan State Battles in 2016