The military regime has bolstered security at entrances to Mandalay amid fierce fighting near Myanmar’s second-largest city.
More junta soldiers, police and affiliated Pyu Saw Htee militias have been posted at city entrances since July 8. Around 50 personnel are deployed in Chanmyathazi Township and around 30 in Thalae Kone village on the Mandalay-Pyin Oo Lwin road in Patheingyi Township, according to residents.
The imposition of tight checks follows clashes in Patheingyi Township north of Mandalay city, and the seizure of Nawnghkio town in Shan State by resistance forces after the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) resumed its anti-regime offensive on June 25.
The Brotherhood Alliance of three ethnic armed organizations including the TNLA launched Operation 1027 in October last year. The ethnic alliance seized several hundred junta frontline bases and military command centers, plus 24 battalion headquarters, around 20 towns, and vital trade routes with China, before a truce was brokered by Beijing in mid-January.
Junta forces in Thalae Kone village are even imposing tight checks on locals, said residents.
“The Mandalay-Pyin Oo Lwin road passes through the middle of our village. Since they [junta soldiers] arrived, they have been checking villagers who use the road to cross the village. Young people are forced to do sit-ups as a punishment when they fail to give satisfactory explanations for why they want to go to the other side of the village,” one resident said.
Locals report that junta soldiers are stopping travelers day and night on the Mandalay-Pyin Oo Lwin road.
The regime has also reinforced Mandalay with militias and former military personnel as clashes in Madaya and Mogoke townships threaten its Central Command in the city.
After fighting spread to villages on the border of Madaya and Patheingyu townships, the regime has turned Madaya town into a fortress while also deploying large troop numbers in Patheingyi to deter advances on Mandalay.
A junta administrator in Mandalay insisted that a security alert had not yet been issued in the city.
The regime has imposed tight checks on vehicles at three entrances east and north of Mandalay since June 26. It has also deployed large numbers of guards on ring roads and is conducting frequent patrols in the town.
The Irrawaddy reached out to Mandalay Region’s junta spokesman, Thein Htay, for comment but got no reply.
Mandalay residents have been withdrawing cash from banks and buying up food, according to locals. Junta personnel are checking homes for unregistered overnight guests and making arrests, they added.
