Mong Nawng

This article is about the town. For the present-day administrative division, see Mong Nawng Township. For the former Shan princely state, see Mongnawng State.

Mong Nawng, Mong Naung^[1] or Mongnawng is a town in Shan State, Myanmar. It is located a few miles to the west of the Nam Pang river.^[2]

Mong Nawng
Town
Mong Nawng Location in Burma
Coordinates: 21°30′N 98°20′E
Country	Burma
State	Shan State
District	Loilen District
Township	Mong Nawng Township
Time zone	UTC+6.30 (MST)

Etymology

The name "Mong Nawng" means "town near a lake" in Shan, and is transliterated into Burmese as Maingnaung.^[3]

History

In British Burma Mong Nawng was the capital of Mongnawng State, one of the large Shan States. The town had a population of 693 in 1901.^[4]

More recently the area has been ravaged by conflicts between the Shan State Army-South (SSA-S) and the Burmese Army.^[5]

Beginning on 6 October 2015 a large scale offensive by the Tatmadaw comprising 20 Burma Army battalions has been launched in central Shan State. The aim of the military is to seize Shan ceasefire territories in Kehsi, Mong Hsu and Mong Nawng townships, using heavy artillery and with fighter jet and helicopter gunship air support to indiscriminately shell and bomb civilian areas. These attacks have displaced thousands of Shan, Palaung, Lisu and Lahu people causing a new humanitarian crisis.^[6][7]