A Dozen Junta Troops Killed in Landmine Blast in Myanmar’s Capital, Civilian Fighters Say

By The Irrawaddy 21 December 2021

Local resistance forces on Monday used landmines to ambush a military column in Pyinmana Township in the capital Naypyitaw, the military regime’s seat of government.

The Naypyitaw People’s Defense Force (PDF), a civilian armed resistance group, said in a statement that at least 12 junta soldiers were killed and five injured in the attack.

The group said it ambushed the column at around 11.30 a.m. on Monday. One of two military vehicles in the column plunged down the side of a cliff after hitting the landmines, it said.

At least 12 of those on board the vehicle that was blown off the cliff were killed, and five in the second vehicle were injured, the group said in the statement. The PDF group suffered no casualties, it added.

Locals said the PDF’s claim to have carried out an attack was true, confirming that the military column was attacked with landmines. However, they couldn’t verify  the casualties, as the area is isolated.

In October, the group attacked a security gate in Pyinmana, killing six junta personnel. The group also targeted a branch of military-owned Myawaddy Bank in Pyinmana in October in an attack that killed two soldiers.

The Naypyitaw PDF announced on Dec. 5 that it would increase its attacks on regime forces in retribution for their deadly ramming of peaceful protesters in Yangon on the same day, and for brutally killing unarmed civilians across the country.

Since the Feb. 1 coup, regime forces have killed at least 1,348 people including children, student activists, protesters, politicians and striking civil servants, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), a rights group. More than 11,000 people have been arrested since the coup.

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