War Against the Junta
At least 21 Myanmar junta forces were killed in the last four days as People’s Defense Force groups escalated their attacks on regime targets across the country.
Incidents were reported in Magwe, Sagaing, Mandalay and Yangon regions.
The Irrawaddy has collected the following reports of significant attacks from PDFs.
Some military casualties could not be independently verified.
Four regime soldiers including two officers killed in PDF ambush in Magwe
An abandoned regime vehicle burns after being torched by a PDF group. / Pakokku-PDF
At least four regime forces including two officers were killed in Pakokku Township, Magwe Region on Monday when combined PDF groups used land mines to attack junta troops being transported in a vehicle and on six motorbikes, Pakokku-PDF, which was involved in the attack, said on Thursday.
Regime forces fled from the ambush area and abandoned their damaged vehicle, which PDF fighters later burned.
Three pro-regime militia members killed in Sagaing
Resistance group Myanmar’s Royal Dragon Army (MRDA) claimed to have killed three pro-regime Pyu Saw Htee militia members in Pale Township, Sagaing Region on Wednesday evening.
Four MRDA commandos ambushed three militia members patrolling outside Zee Phyu Kone Village, the group said.
Regime forces ambushed in Sagaing
Many regime forces are believed to have been killed and injured in Kani Township, Sagaing Region on Wednesday when the Anti-Dictatorship Revolution People’s Army ambushed a military detachment of 50 troops who were chasing and attacking a fleeing resident, the PDF group said.
The civilian detainee fled regime forces while being forced to tend cattle in pro-regime Alal Kyun Village. The resistance fighters saved the fleeing civilian, who suffered a leg injury, and sent him back to his own village, the PDF group said.
Three regime forces killed by PDF land mines in Sagaing
A military vehicle is hit by a mine on a road in Monywa Township on Wednesday. / Thapyaynyo PDF
Three regime forces were killed and five injured in Monywa Township, Sagaing Region on Wednesday when four PDF groups used land mines to ambush a military vehicle on the Ayadaw-Monywa road, said Thapyaynyo Guerrilla Force, which coordinated the ambush.
The PDF group said it found pieces of soldiers’ hands and legs near the ambush area.
A video shot by the PDF groups shows a vehicle being hit by mines.
Military checkpoint repeatedly attacked by PDFs in Sagaing
At least three regime forces were killed in the town of Monywa, Sagaing Region on Thursday when resistance group Lightning PDF used 40-mm explosives to attack a military checkpoint at the entrance to the town, the PDF group said.
The military checkpoint has been raided and bombed by several local PDF groups for the past three days.
Seven regime forces killed by PDF attacks in Sagaing
Seven regime forces including pro-regime Pyu Saw Htee militia members were killed in Shwebo and Depayin townships in Sagaing Region in the last two days when PDF groups attacked regime targets, said local resistance group C&T Shwebo.
On Wednesday, four militia members were killed and six injured when PDF fighters attacked a militia group holding a meeting at Thaung Htut Kaine Village in Shwebo Township.
On Thursday morning, three more junta troops were killed and 10 others injured near Muu Myit Kuu Village in Depayin Township when combined PDF groups ambushed a military detachment that looted houses and burned down several villages, claimed C&T Shwebo, which was involved in the ambush.
Regime forces bombed by PDF drone in Sagaing
A drone drops an improvised bomb on regime targets in the town of Monywa on Wednesday. / DGF
Resistance group Democratic Guerrilla Force claimed to have killed one junta soldier and injured six others on Wednesday evening as it used a drone to bomb regime forces performing sentry duty on the Monywa- Mandalay highway in Monywa Township, Sagaing Region.
The PDF’s aerial video shows a drone dropping a bomb on regime targets.
Regime forces attacked in Mandalay
Three junta soldiers were seriously injured in Aungmyaythazan Township in the city of Mandalay on Thursday when an underground PDF group, Special Task Force-Mandalay, used a grenade to attack regime forces at a ward administration office compound, the PDF group claimed.
Regime forces were attacked while they were playing chinlone, a traditional Myanmar sport. All PDF members escaped from the area without casualties despite regime forces randomly opening fire.
Police station bombed in Yangon
Underground resistance group Union of Myanmar Civil Defense claimed it and another PDF group used a remote-controlled bomb to attack the township police station in Yangon’s Mingalardon on Wednesday night.
The police station is surrounded by several military facilities including hospitals and a medical academy.
The PDF group said the police station is notorious for extorting the families of anti-regime activist detainees and for oppressing civilians.
After being bombed, regime forces blocked the roads and inspected civilians. Regime casualties were unknown.
