The military council has appointed Brigadier General Aye Min Oo, who previously surrendered to the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) in Laukkaing, as the new commander of the Northeast Military Command, whose exact location remains uncertain. This appointment marks a significant shift within the military hierarchy and demonstrates the council’s weakening position, according to analysts.
Brigadier General Aye Min Oo was among the high-ranking military officers who surrendered when the MNDAA captured the Laukkaing Regional Operations Command on January 4, 2024. At the time, he was serving as the Operations Commander of the 14th Military Operations Command. The other senior officers who surrendered alongside him included Regional Commander Brigadier General Moe Kyaw Thu, Acting Chairman of the Kokang Self-Administered Zone Brigadier General Htun Htun Myint, Commander of the 55th Division Headquarters Brigadier General Zaw Myo Win, and the Operations Commanders of the 12th and 16th Military Operations Commands.
The Northeast Military Command was originally based in Lashio, but after losing control of that area in August 2024, the military council relocated it to Tangyan. At that time, Major General Myint Kyaw Htun was appointed as the regional commander. However, on February 28, Major General Myint Kyaw Htun was dismissed from his position and arrested for allegedly accepting thousands of lakhs in bribes from Chinese scam syndicates. Following this, Brigadier General Aye Min Oo was appointed as the new regional commander.
Military council leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing’s approach to appointing regional commanders typically involves maintaining an equal balance between graduates of the Defense Services Academy and the Officer Training School (OTS). According to CDM Captain Zin Yaw and military sources, this appointment strategy is designed to create division among the officers while ensuring mutual surveillance, ultimately aiming to maintain loyalty to the military council through a system of checks and balances.
