Allied anti-regime groups have withdrawn from Pale town in Sagaing Region’s Yinmabin District, citing a lack of ammunition and overwhelming military force.
Pale is approximately 50 km from Sagaing Region’s capital Monywa, which houses the Myanmar military’s Northwestern Command.
The Burma National Revolution Army (BNRA) led by Bo Nagar, Generation Z Youth Army (GZA), and Southern YSO PDF forces launched coordinated attacks in the small hours of Nov. 11 on Pale police station and government offices.
The offensive saw resistance groups capture the township’s General Administration Department and the police station as well as 25 junta soldiers, weapons and ammunition.
But they were compelled to retreat on Thursday evening as the regime responded by airlifting in reinforcements and conducting air raids, the BNRA said Sunday.
One fighter said: “They pressured us with aerial bombardment during three days of fighting, deploying fighter jets and Mi-35 helicopters. Then they airlifted some 100 troops from Budalin and dropped them around the town. We withdrew as some of us were injured, we were running short of ammunition, and we were outnumbered.”
Anti-regime groups said they managed to take their prisoners of war with them as they retreated.
According to the Pale Township People’s Administration, the regime carried out more than 30 air raids as well as numerous artillery strikes from Nov. 11 to 14.
“The regime airlifted reinforcements six times on Nov. 14 alone, bringing in over 100 troops. They retook the town and burned houses in Alelbon village on the outskirts while Mi-17 helicopters strafed the area,” another resistance fighter said.
At least seven civilians were killed and thousands forced to flee.
Besides Alelbon on the Pale-Yinmabin road, two other villages northwest of the town suffered heavy damage in bombing raids.
The airstrikes have left Pale a badly damaged ghost town, with the military reestablishing its presence and conducting clearance operations as residents continue to flee.
In a previous offensive on July 7, resistance forces were also able to penetrate Pale but were forced to withdraw due to a lack of ammunition. But anti-regime groups say they control much of the rural part of Pale Township as junta troops are only deployed in the town and nearby villages.
