Myanmar rebels agree to China-brokered pull-out from ruby mining town

Rebels abandon key areas Mogok and Momeik after Beijing-led talks, signalling a shift in the civil war’s dynamics

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Members of ethnic rebel group Ta’ang National Liberation Army take part in a training exercise at their base camp in the forest in Myanmar’s northern Shan State in 2023. Photo: AFP

Published: 8:02pm, 29 Oct 2025

One of Myanmar’s most powerful ethnic armed opposition factions has agreed to a China-brokered withdrawal from a lucrative ruby mining hub, the group said on Wednesday.

Myanmar has been mired in a civil war since the military grabbed power in a 2021 coup, with the junta fighting an array of pro-democracy guerrillas and powerful ethnic minority armed groups.

The ragtag opposition initially struggled to make headway before organising a combined offensive in late 2023 that seized huge swathes of territory.

The northern ruby-mining town of Mogok was captured by rebels last summer, but the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) – the most powerful group driving that offensive – said it will now pull out.

Miners panning for rubies and other gemstones in a ruby mine in Mogok, Myanmar. Photo: AFP

The TNLA said in a statement on Telegram it had made a deal with the junta after two days of talks that ended on Tuesday, overseen by a Chinese special envoy in the city of Kunming in southern China.

According to the deal, the group will pull out of the townships of Mogok and neighbouring Momeik.

Myanmar rebels agree to China-brokered pull-out from ruby mining town

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Rebels abandon key areas Mogok and Momeik after Beijing-led talks, signalling a shift in the civil war’s dynamics

Rebels abandon key areas Mogok and Momeik after Beijing-led talks, signalling a shift in the civil war’s dynamics