Myanmar Junta Troops Battle Civilian Resistance Fighters in Mandalay
By The Irrawaddy 22 June 2021
Junta forces raided a base of the People’s Defense Force (PDF) in Mandalay on Tuesday morning, resulting in a clash.
Junta troops reportedly raided a boarding school where PDF fighters were based in Hton Tone ward at around 7.30 a.m.
“They sniffed us out. They came to our base at between 111st and 112nd streets on 54th Street and we shot at them as they came,” said the person in charge of the Mandalay PDF’s urban guerilla warfare unit who uses the pseudonym Bo Tun Tauk Naing.
PDF fighters were withdrawing from the base as their colleagues from other parts of the town rushed to rescue them.
“I heard three of our fighters have been injured. We don’t know yet how many have been detained. Our weapons will be seized if they [junta troops] are able to overrun our base. But they won’t be seized if our troops can retreat successfully,” Bo Tun Tauk Naing said.
Junta forces used grenades in the fighting, the PDF said. Junta troops are also using snipers and armored vehicles in the clash.
“Junta troops arrived around 7 a.m. and opened fire at 111st and 54th streets. It was not heavy shooting. Then there was an exchange of fire between 8 a.m. and 8.30 a.m. So far, junta troops have not yet raided houses. But they are detaining every man on sight,” said a resident of Hton Tone Ward.
He said he heard the sounds of machine guns and grenades. Locals are staying indoors during the shootout.
The Mandalay PDF was formed by local resistance fighters who underwent military training provided by ethnic armed groups. They operate under the parallel National Unity Government.
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