Around 10 Myanmar junta forces were reportedly killed and many injured when resistance groups attacked a convoy of regime vessels on the Chindwin River in Salingyi Township, Sagaing Region, on Saturday, according to Myanmar’s Royal Dragon Army (MRDA).
The resistance fighters from the MRDA and Monywa District Battalion 11 attacked a military flotilla of seven barges and three warships reportedly transporting rations, weapons, ammunition and fuel from Pakokku Township to Sagaing Region.
The clash lasted for around an hour and a vessel was destroyed, according to the MRDA.
“According to our scout in Monywa, the killed soldiers were carried away in two funeral cars. Furthermore, many soldiers were injured. We heard that a warship and a barge were stuck in Alon harbor in Monywa Township as they were damaged,” said Saytan, the commander of the MRDA.
The Irrawaddy could not independently verify the casualty report.
A separate group of resistance forces attacked the same military flotilla in Salingyi Township from 12 noon to 5 p.m. on the same day, according to the Monywa Underground Guerrilla Force (MUGF).
The MUGF and four other resistance groups attacked the flotilla in two places, and Myanmar junta troops sustained casualties during the clash. A resistance fighter was slightly injured, the MUGF said.
“The vessels were attacked by local PDF battalions along the river. The military fired back with various weapons,” a resistance fighter told The Irrawaddy.
The vessels opened fire on villages along the river with heavy weapons, he added.
In the first week of August, resistance groups attacked a convoy of regime vessels carrying jet fuel on the Chindwin River.
Faced with continuous land-mine ambushes by PDFs on its land routes, the Myanmar junta has to rely on riverine routes to transport rations, weapons and ammunition to upper Sagaing Region and Kachin State.
However, the military flotillas and motorboats are also coming under attack from local resistance groups along the rivers.
