Over 60 Myanmar junta troops killed in five days of resistance attacks

At least 66 Myanmar junta troops were killed in the last five days as People’s Defense Force groups (PDFs) and ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) stepped up attacks on regime targets across the country, The Irrawaddy reports.

Incidents were reported in Shan, Karen and Mon states and Mandalay, Magwe, Sagaing and Bago regions.

The Irrawaddy has collected the following reports of significant attacks from PDFs and EAOs.

Some military casualties could not be independently verified.

Junta troops suffered heavy casualties in clashes in Mon State’s Ye Township on Friday, resistance forces said.

Dawna Column and allied resistance forces claimed to have killed 18 junta troops during an attack on a junta base at Ye Bridge and on reinforcements that arrived at the clash site. Only one resistance fighter was injured during the attack, Dawna Column said.

Following the clash, the resistance groups were ambushed by a military unit between Kyon Laung and Wei Paung villages while transporting an injured comrade to a clinic. Eleven of their fighters were injured in the junta ambush, two of them critically.

Later, the combined resistance groups attacked the soldiers who ambushed the resistance forces, killing 27 junta troops and seizing their weapons, the resistance group said.

Clashes erupt in Karen

Mutraw District Authority of the Karen National Union (KNU) said its armed wing, the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), raided a military base in Kawakyoe Village in Papun Township, Karen State last Friday, killing three soldiers.

It followed an attack on a different junta camp in the township last Wednesday in which the KNLA killed a soldier and injured three others.

TNLA, regime forces clash in Mandalay, northern Shan State

Heavy clashes between regime forces and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) resumed near Ahtet Nyaung Kone Village in Mogoke Township, upper Mandalay Region on Saturday, said the ethnic armed group.

In the clashes, many regime forces including officers were killed. After sustaining heavy losses, two junta fighter jets bombed the clash site and nearby Ahtet Nyaung Kone Village. More than 10 civilian houses were destroyed by fire as a result of the junta air strikes, the TNLA said.

The group also clashed with regime forces in Namhkam Township, northern Shan State on the same day. It seized military weapons and ammunition and removed the body of a dead junta soldier from the clash site, the TNLA said.

Clash erupts in Mandalay

A clash broke out in Natogyi Township, Mandalay Region on Saturday when a military unit of 20 troops attempted to attack a joint unit of eight PDF groups conducting security checks on civilian vehicles on Natogyi-Myingyan Road, said Natogyi PDF.

The clash began with resistance snipers firing on regime forces who were detected approaching the area. A drone was then used to bomb the junta troops. The PDF group said its members who witnessed the clash reported that two soldiers and a policeman were killed and nine other regime forces were injured.

One resistance fighter suffered injuries.

Regime forces attacked in Bago

Thayawady District PDF Battalion 3802 said it attacked a military unit of 20 troops using six civilian detainees as human shields in Minhla Township, Thayawady District, Bago Region on Sunday morning.

The regime unit was attacked while traveling in the Bago Yoma Forest. Regime forces retreated with an injured solider.

Junta police officer killed in Shwebo, Sagaing

Shwebo District PDF Battalion 23 said its resistance fighters killed a police officer from the junta base at Basic Education High School No. 2 in Shwebo town, Sagaing Region on Sunday evening.

The police officer was chased and killed while he was extorting money from a civilian vehicle.

Regime soldier killed by drone strike in Sagaing

A junta soldier was killed and two others injured in Budalin Township, Sagaing Region last Friday when five resistance groups used makeshift drones to bomb two junta bases including a police station in Budalin town, said Chindwin Brothers, a resistance group that joined the attack.

On Saturday, the combined group used mortars and drone bombs to attack forces stationed at a fire service station and forest department office in the town using mortar rounds and drone bombs.  Five more junta troops suffered injuries in the bombardment.

Military unit bombed while raiding, torching villages in Sagaing

Many regime forces are believed to have been killed or injured in Depayin Township, Sagaing Region on Saturday when two resistance groups used drones to drop bombs on a military unit of 100 troops including pro-junta Pyu Saw Htee militias entering Nga Wel Taw Village, said anti-regime resistance group Operation Myanandar, which joined the attacks.

The military unit has been raiding and torching villages in the township since Thursday. After being bombed, the regime forces randomly attacked nearby villages with both heavy explosives and firearms, the resistance group said.

Regime forces face repeated attacks in Sagaing

Northern Brothers Group said it and six other resistance groups attacked a military unit that took up a position in Hbone Bawe Village in Shwebo Township, Sagaing Region for five days.

First, the resistance groups dropped three drone bombs on 30 regime sentries from the military unit who were conducting a patrol between Hnaw Pin Village and Hbone Bawe last Thursday.

The next day, the combined groups used land mines and drone bombs to attack the military unit again while it was advancing to Bo Tae Village from Hnaw Pin. After suffering heavy casualties in the attacks, the military unit retreated to another village and vehicles were used to transport the injured soldiers to Shwebo town, the resistance groups said.

Military flotilla ambushed in Sagaing

Monywa District PDF Battalion 12 said it and three other resistance groups ambushed a military flotilla of four motorboats including a barge carrying logs in Chaung-U Township, Sagaing Region on Saturday.

The flotilla was attacked while traveling downstream along the Chindwin River. Details of damage and military casualties were unknown. There were no resistance casualties, but three civilians were injured when a heavy explosive fired by the flotilla hit a village on the riverbank.

Military battalion HQ bombed in Magwe

Northern Yesagyo PDF group said it and other PDF groups used makeshift remote-controlled airplanes to drop four bombs on the headquarters of Military Infantry Battalion 256 in Yesagyo Township, Magwe Region on Saturday.

After being bombed, the regime base responded with heavy explosives and firearms. There were no resistance casualties, however.

Junta suffers losses in Magwe

At least 12 regime forces were killed and others injured in Salin Township, Magwe Region on Saturday when a four-hour clash broke out between local resistance groups and a military unit that had been raiding a village, said Minbu District PDF Battalion 2, which took part in the shootout.

After suffering losses, the military unit retreated from the area.