War Against the Junta
A junta helicopter gunship is seen during clashes between regime bases and resistance groups in Kawkareik Township on the weekend. / Lion Battalion Commando
At least 27 Myanmar junta forces and five resistance fighters were killed in the last four days as People’s Defense Force groups (PDFs) and an ethnic armed organization (EAO) stepped up their attacks on regime targets across the country.
Ethnic revolutionary group the Karen National Union (KNU) escalated its attacks on regime bases including several military headquarters and strategic junta border outposts in recent days.
Incidents were reported in Karen State and Bago, Mandalay and Sagaing regions.
The Irrawaddy has collected the following reports of significant attacks from PDFs and the EAO group.
Some military casualties could not be independently verified.
Strategic junta border outpost seized, burned down in Karen
PDF and KNLA troops engage in a heavy firefight while raiding the strategic Mal Kha Hta junta border outpost on the bank of the Salween River in Hpapun District on Tuesday. / Salween Press
The Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), the armed wing of the Karen National Union, claimed to have seized and burned down the strategic Mal Kha Hta military border outpost on the bank of the Salween River near the Thai border in Hpapun District, Karen State on Tuesday.
The KNLA has not provided casualty details for either side.
Citing resistance members and rescue groups, local Karen media outlets reported that around 48 junta soldiers were killed in the clash.
However, The Irrawaddy was unable to independently verify the military casualties.
The PDF group Force for Federal Democracy (FFD), which joined the KNLA in the attack, said a resistance fighter was also killed and three others injured.
A photo shows more than 10 military weapons and ammunition seized by the resistance forces.
Military headquarters, bases raided in Karen
At least 15 regime troops and three resistance fighters were killed in Kyondoe town, Kawkareik Township, Karen State on the weekend when combined Karen resistance groups raided five military bases including two military battalions and a police station, said Lion Battalion Commando, which coordinated the attacks.
After suffering heavy losses and injuries, the regime forces fled from the resistance raids.
11 junta forces killed in resistance raids in Karen
Fighters of the KNU’s Cobra Column raid junta bases in the trade and commerce zone in Myawaddy town on Saturday. / Cobra Ko Shine
At least 11 junta forces were killed and eight junta policeman including a police lieutenant colonel were arrested in Myawaddy Township, Karen State on Saturday when several Karen resistance groups including PDF forces jointly raided military bases including battalions and a police station, said the KNU’s Doopalayar District branch.
In the heavy urban attacks, a resistance fighter was killed and two others injured, while two attack drones were lost.
However, several weapons, ammunition and cash were seized from the regime forces.
After the clashes, the junta conducted heavy, indiscriminate artillery and air strikes on both resistance forces and civilian areas.
Regime forces injured in drone strikes in Mandalay
A junta sentry box is hit by a resistance drone strike in Taungtha town last Friday. / Myingyan District Drone Strike
Several regime forces were injured in Taungtha and Myingyan townships, Mandalay Region on Monday when combined PDF groups used drones to drop bombs on regime targets in three locations, said Myingyan District Drone Strike (MDDS), which joined the attacks.
The combined group used drones to drop four bombs on the police outpost at Yone Si Gyi Village in Taungtha Township on Monday. Junta police casualties were unknown.
The group continued to conduct drone strikes on junta camps in two villages in Myingyan Township, injuring six regime forces.
Regime forces ambushed with land mines in Bago
A soldier was killed and two others suffered serious injuries in Oakpho Township, Bago Region on Tuesday when Thayarwaddy District PDF Battalion 3802 used a cluster of four land mines to attack regime forces stationed at Tower Taing Village, said Bago Region PDF.
A military detachment of 35 regime forces from the village were ambushed as they were heading out of the village to raid resistance areas nearby.
At least 12 regime soldiers from the military group were believed to have been killed in recent resistance attacks on March 24 and 26.
Regime forces repeatedly bombed by PDF drones in Sagaing
A PDF drone drops bombs on regime targets in Sagaing Township on Sunday. / Unicorn Guerrilla Force
PDF group Unicorn Guerrilla Forces said it and other PDF groups used drones to drop three bombs on regime forces repairing a vehicle on a road in Sagaing Township, Sagaing Region on Sunday.
The drones dropped bombs on regime forces from military Division 33 while they were repairing one of two military vehicles damaged in land mine ambushes conducted by other resistance groups.
The combined PDF groups used drones to drop another five bombs on pro-junta militia camps in Mar Lal Taw Village in the township on that afternoon.
Details on military casualties in both attacks were unknown.