A convoy of regime vessels has been under attack by resistance groups on both sides of the Ayeyarwady River after it departed Mandalay City for Kachin State on July 26.
It has been under sustained attacks from anti-regime People’s Defense Forces (PDFs) in Mandalay Region’s Thabekkyin Township and by PDFs near Kyauk Myaung Township in Sagaing Region.
The Ayeywardady River forms a natural boundary between the two regions in upper Myanmar, and is a major transport route.
The junta convoy comprises two battleships, one barge and six vessels carrying more than 300 troops. Besides troops, it is reportedly transporting food, weapons and ammunition to Kachin State.
Thirty-seven junta troops were killed and many more were injured in the first attack last Thursday when fighters from combined PDFs shelled the convoy near Sagaing Region’s Kyauk Myaung Town.
Two vessels were destroyed in the attack, according to the Captain Eagle PDF.
The Irrawaddy could not independently verify the claim.
The injured soldiers were sent to the Thabekkyin and Kyauk Kyi hospitals.
The National Unity Government’s Ministry of Defense said in a statement that battalions it controls and resistance forces shelled the convoy and that a vessel in its middle was hit twice.
The convoy was attacked again on Friday by combined forces of the Kachin Independence Army and Thabekkyin Township PDF. A spokesperson for the PDF confirmed the attack but declined to provide details.
On Saturday, the junta military unit providing security to the convoy marched into land-mine trap near Shar Taw Village in Thabekkyin Township, according to the Kyar Nyut PDF. Although causalities were reported, the exact number was unknown.
The convoy is still passing through Thabekkyin Township and is expected to arrive in Kachin State in a few days, according to the Myo Hla PDF in the northeastern state. It issued an emergency alert for the people residing on the banks of the river.
“People who live in the villages along the banks of the Ayeyarwady River should listen to the news and remain cautious,” the PDF said.
Battleships in the convoy shelled riverside sites, killing two civilians in Mandalay’s Mattayar Township on July 26.
In late October last year, a 12-year-old girl from was killed and another girl was injured when military vessels traveling by the river to Kachin State shelled a village in Sagaing Region’s Katha District.
