At least 25 Myanmar junta forces were killed during a dawn raid by People’s Defense Forces on a military camp in Myinmu Township, Sagaing Region on Saturday.
Four District PDF battalions from Mandalay’s Kyaukse and Myingyan and Sagaing’s Shwebo and Sagaing stormed a base guarded by 40 junta police and pro-regime militia in Htee Saung village, according to a representative of Zero Guerrilla Force, which joined the raid.
The guerrilla group, also known as the Myingyan District PDF Battalion 7, is under the command of Myanmar’s parallel National Unity Government (NUG).
The PDF forces bombarded the junta base with 40mm rocket-propelled grenades, their leader told The Irrawaddy on Monday.
After four hours of intense fighting, they seized and burned the base at 4am. PDF fighters also chased and attacked regime forces as they fled.
“We counted around 15 bodies of regime personnel at the base. According to our sources, another 10 or more junta forces died in hospital while being treated,” said the leader of Zero Guerrilla Force.
The Irrawaddy was unable to independently verify the reports.
The military base is located on the Monywa-Sagaing Highway. Despite being located only a few miles from the town of Myinmu and a police outpost in Sagaing, no junta reinforcements arrived at the base when it came under PDF attack on Saturday.
PDF fighters said they seized weapons, two jammers and ammunition along with military equipment from the base.
Two resistance fighters suffered minor injuries during the assault, they added.
A PDF video shows the base burning during the intense firefight.
On Jan. 22, three regime forces were killed and two others injured when the PDF group attacked the same military camp.
Zero Guerrilla Force said it also joined with another PDF group in a land-mine ambush that killed two more soldiers on Sunday as regime forces and vehicles searched for mines planted by PDF groups on the Monywa-Sagaing Highway in Sagaing Township.
Intense clashes are now being reported across the country daily, as PDFs and ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) escalate their offensive against regime targets.
