Some eight junta soldiers were reportedly killed in a resistance mine attack on a Myanmar regime convoy in Saw Township, Gangaw District, Magwe Region, on March 17.
“Three military vehicles were traveling from Kyaukhtu to escort a military convoy from Pakokku. We attacked the Kyaukhtu-Pakokku road with mines. Two of the vehicles were hit,” a member of Kyaukhtu People’s Defense Force (PDF) told The Irrawaddy.
“We saw eight dead junta soldiers. They put the dead and injured on the third vehicle and left,” he added.
Following the mine attack, junta soldiers fired at random at shops and houses along the road and looted valuables, said villagers.
One Kyaukhtu villager said: “We have to guard our village in shifts day and night. Once junta soldiers arrive, we flee to other villagers. We stay there one or two nights and return to our village if we think it is safe. Junta soldiers can only loot when there are no people in the village. And they dare not stay long when there are no residents.”
Kyaukhtu PDF has warned people against using the Kyaukhtu-Pakokku and Kyaukhtu-Htilin roads as fighting can erupt at any time. The PDF has asked people to tell the group if there is an emergency and they need to travel.
The regime controls most of Magwe Region’s towns while resistance groups hold large rural areas.
Groups have formed people’s administrations and police forces in Pauk, Htilin, Yesagyo, Gangaw, Saw and Myaing townships, where the resistance is strong.
Saw Township people’s administration announced on Feb. 8 that it had formed an interim police force with 20 striking police officers and resistance fighters to provide security.
The township’s administration has divided Saw Township into three areas, Saw, Kyaukhtu and Laungchi.
There are five districts and 25 townships in Magwe Region. Resistance groups on the border of Magwe and Sagaing regions in Gangaw, Saw, Myaing, Yesagyo, Pauk and Htilin are running parallel administrations and the regime’s authority still functions on the plains in Magwe, Minhla, Minbu and Pwintphyu townships.
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