Myanmar civil war: The junta is taking back territory with relentless air strikes and China's help

China has thrown its weight behind the junta - and its widely condemned plan to hold an election in December.

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Kyaukme straddles Asian Highway 14, more famous as the Burma Road during the Second World War, and its capture by the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) was seen by many as a pivotal victory for the opposition. It suggested that the morale of the military junta which had seized power in 2021 might be crumbling.

This month, though, it took just three weeks for the army to recapture Kyaukme.

The fluctuating fate of this little hill town is a stark illustration of how far the military balance in Myanmar has now shifted, in favour of the junta.

Kyaukme has paid a heavy price. Large parts of the town have been flattened by daily air strikes carried out by the military while it was in the hands of the TNLA. Air force jets dropped 500-pound bombs, while artillery and drones hit insurgent positions outside the town. Much of the population fled the town, though they are starting to return now the military has retaken it.