Tue Apr 22 16:30:38 UTC 2025: ## China Brokers Deal: Myanmar Rebel Group to Return Captured City to Military

**Yangon, Myanmar – April 23, 2025** – The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), an ethnic armed group, is surrendering the strategically important city of Lashio to the Myanmar military, according to China’s Foreign Ministry. The handover, facilitated by a Beijing-brokered ceasefire agreement, follows the MNDAA’s capture of Lashio in August 2024, marking the military’s worst strategic defeat since the 2021 coup.

China, a key ally and arms supplier to the Myanmar junta, deployed a ceasefire monitoring team to oversee the peaceful transfer of Lashio. While the MNDAA has yet to officially comment, reports from residents and a military source confirm the return of junta troops to the city. The source, speaking anonymously, stated that military personnel have been transferred to Lashio in recent days. A resident corroborated this, reporting being turned away from a hotel where MNDAA and military officials were reportedly meeting.

Analysts believe Lashio’s capture, located near the Chinese border, threatened Beijing’s interests, particularly given its involvement in infrastructure projects in the region under the Belt and Road Initiative. Following Lashio’s fall, China reportedly cut off power, water, and internet access to the MNDAA’s Kokang region. The MNDAA subsequently announced a ceasefire and willingness to engage in China-mediated peace talks. This deal marks a significant development in the ongoing civil war in Myanmar.

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