Mong Ko Explained

Mong Ko
Native Name:
Other Name:Monekoe, Man Guo, Man Kan
Pushpin Map:Myanmar
Pushpin Label Position:none
Settlement Type:Town
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name: Myanmar
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Type2:District
Subdivision Name2:Mu Se District
Subdivision Type3:Township
Subdivision Name3:Mu Se Township
Unit Pref:Imperial
Population Total:24,565
Population Urban:8,847
Population Rural:15,718
Population As Of:2014
Population Footnotes:[1]
Population Density Km2:auto
Coordinates:24.1003°N 98.3139°W
Timezone:MMT
Utc Offset:+6:30
Elevation Footnotes:[2]
Elevation M:450

Mong Ko (Burmese: မုံးကိုးမြို့; Chinese: c=勐古|p=Měng gǔ), sometimes spelled Mongko or Monekoe and also known as Man Kan, Man Guo[3] and Panglong,[4] is a town in Mu Se Township, Mu Se District, northern Shan State, Myanmar.

Like many towns in the region, Mong Ko is known to be a hotspot for drug production and trade.[5]

Geography

Mong Ko lies by the China–Myanmar border, 25 km east of Pang Hseng (Kyu Koke).[6] There is a border checkpoint in the town.[7] The town on the Chinese part of the border is Manghai in Mangshi county-level city, Yunnan Province.

History

The Communist Party of Burma (CPB) entered Shan State on New Year Day 1968, captured Mong Ko, and established the first war zone ‘303’ of the CPB North-East Command (NEC). This was quickly followed by ‘404’ in Kokang substate winning over the local warlord Pheung Kya-shin.[8]

For 20 years Pheung controlled Kokang as a member of the Communist Party of Burma.[9] In 1989, however, the CPB split up[9] and Pheung established his own army, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, with which he mutinied and captured Mong Ko town.[10] After this he signed a cease-fire with the military junta, which allowed the Kokang army to retain their weapons, and established an autonomous Kokang region as the "First Special Region" of Myanmar.[11] [12]

The Northern Alliance launched an offensive to capture Mong Ko on 20 November 2016.[13] The town was recaptured by the Myanmar Army in December 2016.[14]

On November 7 2023 the Brotherhood Alliance, which consists of most of the same members of the Northern Alliance, established control over the town, raising the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) flag over the border bridge.

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: The 2014 Myanmar Population and Housing Census Highlights of the Main Results Census Report Volume 2 – A . Department of Population Ministry of Immigration and Population . 64. 2015.
  2. [GoogleEarth]
  3. https://books.google.com/books?id=TCdZ44gxDvcC&dq=%22Mong+Ko%22+Guo&pg=PA27 Shelby Tucker, Among Insurgents: Walking Through Burma. p. 27
  4. Web site: Panglong. Mapcarta. 22 May 2016.
  5. https://books.google.com/books?id=4-uUdq9CSc0C&dq=%22Mong+Ko%22+myanmar&pg=PA152 Peter John Perry, Myanmar (Burma) Since 1962: The Failure of Development. p. 152
  6. http://www.geographic.org/geographic_names/name.php?uni=-627977&fid=672&c=burma Möng Ko: Burma
  7. Web site: Restricted Area in Myanmar (Burma) . 2016-05-22 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160821034735/http://www.tourismmyanmar.com/restricted_area.htm . 2016-08-21 . dead .
  8. Book: Smith, Martin. 1991. Burma – Insurgency and the Politics of Ethnicity . Zed Books. London and New Jersey.
  9. Web site: A fix in the making . 28 June 1990 . 29 August 2009 . Far Eastern Economic Review . Lintner, Bertil . Bertil Lintner . Chiang Mai .
  10. Book: Tucker, Shelby . 176 . Burma: The curse of independence . 2001 . Pluto Press . 978-0-7453-1541-6.
  11. Web site: 南国都市报 (Southern Metropolitan) . http://ngdsb.hinews.cn/html/2009-08/29/content_154639.htm . zh:果敢乱局当前 传“果敢王”已逃离 . 29 August 2009 . 29 August 2009. zh.
  12. Web site: . Tense situation in N. Myanmar's Shan state prevails . https://web.archive.org/web/20090830070442/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-08/28/content_11955561.htm . dead . August 30, 2009 . 28 August 2009 . 27 August 2009.
  13. Web site: Armed groups renew attacks on military post in N. Myanmar: authorities – SYCB. www.sycbyouth.org. en-US. 2017-12-21.
  14. http://www.sycbyouth.org/burmese-army-recaptures-mongko/ Burmese army recaptures Mongko – SYCB