Mong Ko

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. For 20 years Pheung controlled Kokang as a member of the Communist Party of Burma. In 1989, however, the CPB split up 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. The Northern Alliance launched an offensive to capture Mong Ko on 20 November 2016. The town was recaptured by the Myanmar Army in December 2016. 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.

Geography

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

Most-observed species

• Red-vented Bulbul

  Pycnonotus cafer (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  2
• Collared Myna

  Acridotheres albocinctus Godwin-Austen & Walden, 1875 · Aves
  2
• Long-tailed Shrike

  Lanius schach Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2
• Fighting Beetle

  Xylotrupes socrates Schaufuss, 1864 · Insecta
  1
• Anthracophora siamensis Kraatz, 1894

  Anthracophora siamensis Kraatz, 1894 · Insecta
  1
• Giant Honey Bee

  Apis dorsata Fabricius, 1793 · Insecta
  1
• Devario apogon (Chu, 1981)

  Devario apogon (Chu, 1981) · Animalia
  1
• pool barb

  Puntius sophore (Hamilton, 1822) · Animalia
  1