Junta fighter jets bombed a village in Chin State’s Kanpetlet Township on Tuesday morning after a junta convoy heading to Kyin Dwe town in Kanpetlet was ambushed on the border with neighboring Magwe Region, according to the Chinland Defense Force (CDF-Kanpetlet).
The convoy is part of junta preparations for a major offensive in Chin State, said resistance forces.
Some 10 houses and a church in Masatwi village were damaged in Tuesday’s bombing raid. The number of civilian casualties is still unknown, CDF-Kanpetlet liaison officer Salai Than Shwe said.
“They dropped around 20 bombs. We still can’t confirm civilian casualties. We are only able to confirm property damage. I heard that junta troops suffered heavy casualties. One resistance fighter was wounded,” Salai Than Shwe told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday.
Military tensions in the area remain high, he added.
The junta convoy of around 27 vehicles including two armored vehicles, soldiers, weapons and food supplies left Laungshey town in Magwe Region on July 13 and is thought to be heading to the junta’s base in Kyin Dwe.
The convoy is transporting around 300 junta soldiers from the 88th Light Infantry Division. Resistance forces have been clashing with the convoy’s vanguard along the road.
The regime has been conducting artillery and air attacks along the Laungshey-Kyin Dwe road since the convoy left Magwe.
A 12-year-old child was killed and a man injured when the junta shelled Yinke village, Saw Township, during an attack by its ground troops on July 14, according to local media outlet Yaw Alin Tan. Nearly all of Yinke’s 300 houses, which are located along the Laungshey-Kyin Dwe road, were torched in the attack. Around 2,000 residents of Yinke and two neighboring villages fled their homes.
The regime also conducted an air strike against Swel Lwel Kyin village amid fighting on July 15, according to local resistance forces.
Junta troops have been pinned down between Swel Lel Kyin and Masatwi villages on the border of Chin State and Magwe Region, said resistance groups.
The daily clashes have resulted in casualties on both sides, but neither has released casualty figures. Resistance groups have warned locals against traveling on the Laungshey-Kyin Dwe road.
A separate junta column consisting of around 150 soldiers from Kyaukhtu town has also arrived in Saw Township. This column is thought to be heading to Kanpetlet, said Salai Than Shwe.
“The regime is apparently preparing for a massive offensive in Chin. It has been a while since they last attacked here. But large numbers of troops are heading here now. We will do what it takes to protect the people,” he said.
