Regime reinforcements dispatched to reclaim rebel-held territories in Madaya Township, Mandalay Region, are facing fierce resistance from the Mandalay People’s Defense Force (MDY-PDF), according to military sources and locals.
Regime troops backed by air and artillery strikes began raiding eastern Madaya in mid-April, despite the junta ceasefire declared following the March 28 earthquake.
Madaya town is 22 kilometers northeast of Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city.
Eastern Madaya Township is home to the China-backed Alpha Cement factory and a gold mine operated by former junta-appointed Mandalay Region Chief Minister Maung Ko. The regime ceded eastern Madaya to resistance forces during Operation 1027 last year.
“The gold mines are helping to finance revolutionary forces, so the regime wants to cut off that funding,” said a Madaya Township People’s Defense Team member.
“If resistance forces had full financial backing, they would be better equipped,” he added, pointing to the need for better weapons to combat the regime’s intensified aerial campaign following losses on the ground.
Since May 1, daily junta airstrikes in eastern Madaya have killed at least one civilian and wounded several others.
Junta troops began advancing in eastern Madaya last month, targeting the Payaungtaung gold mine and Kyauktada and Htanbigon villages. However, they have only been able to reclaim two outposts previously lost to the Mandalay resistance.
“Regime forces have been shelling daily toward Htanbingon, Konethar and Alpha Cement Plant,” said a military source. “They are raiding in large numbers and both sides have suffered casualties.”
Residents have fled the daily bombardment en masse, leaving only the poorest behind.
The MDY-PDF captured nearly 40 junta positions, including a junta airbase and an outpost guarding Payaungtaung gold mine, during the second phase of Operation 1027 last year. The resistance group still controls almost all of them.
The Payaungtaung mine is a joint venture between the state-owned No. 2 Mining Enterprise and Myanmar Golden Point Family Co, owned by Maung Ko. The 2,100-hectare site produces around 1.6 kilograms of gold per month, according to the company’s 2023 report submitted to the Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation Ministry.
Madaya Township is surrounded by Pyin Oo Lwin, seat of the junta’s military academies, resistance-held Nawnghkio Township in northern Shan State, and Wetlet and Sagaing townships in the resistance stronghold of Sagaing Region. It’s just a one-hour drive from Mandalay.
