At least 40 junta soldiers were killed on Wednesday when civilian resistance fighters raided regime forces in Kawlin Township, Sagaing Region, according to local residents and the Defense Ministry of the parallel National Unity Government (NUG).
At 2am early Wednesday morning, the Kawlin People’s Defense Force (KLPDF) attacked two groups of 100 junta soldiers stationed near Kyunbyintha Village in Kawlin Township.
The NUG’s Defense Ministry said that the KLPDF used heavy explosives to attack the military regime forces, killing around 40 junta troops. A civilian resistance fighter suffered minor injuries.
Kawlin Revolution released a photo showing members of the KLPDF preparing to cremate the dead soldiers.
A local resident told The Irrawaddy that six military vehicles carrying reinforcements arrived in Kawlin at around 2am early Thursday morning.
Later on Thursday morning, Myanmar military jets launched airstrikes on a rural area of Kyunhla Township in Sagaing, where junta reinforcements have been sent, according to local media.
On Wednesday, three military convoys were ambushed with mines by People’s Defense Forces (PDF) in Sagaing’s Myaung and Myinmu townships. Seven military vehicles were damaged in the attack, but junta casualties are unknown.
In early July, 44 junta soldiers were killed and another 20 injured in attacks by the KLPDF in Kawlin Township. Three civilian fighters died during those raids.
Since early October, the regime has sent 3,000 reinforcements and extra weapons to Sagaing and Magwe regions and Chin State, the country’s most restive areas, to conduct clearance operations against the PDFs.
Military regime forces continue to commit atrocities including raiding villages, bombarding and burning down houses and arbitrarily killing civilians.
As of Wednesday, 1,218 people have been slain since the February 1 coup by junta forces during their raids, crackdowns, arrests, interrogations and random shootings, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.
Another 9,281 people including elected government leaders have been detained by the junta.
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