At least six Myanmar junta soldiers were reportedly killed on Monday and Tuesday in Kani Township, Sagaing Region, when a combined group of People’s Defense Forces (PDF) launched daring attacks on a military flotilla of 13 motorboats traveling the Chindwin River.
On Tuesday, a combined force of seventeen PDF groups attacked nine military motorboats and a gunboat escorting two barges on the river, said Kyauklonegyi-PDF, who coordinated the ambushes.
The flotilla, escorted by an estimated 200 junta soldiers, is reportedly transporting ammunition, explosive chemicals, military equipment and food to Upper Myanmar from the port of Monywa.
The Kyauklonegyi-PDF spokesperson told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday that they attacked the flotilla from four locations.
PDF groups used improvised heavy weapons in the ambush.
Two military regime soldiers armed with a machinegun and heavy explosives were gunned down by PDF snipers, while three other junta troops were killed in the intense clashes, the PDF spokesperson said.
A resistance fighter suffered minor injuries in the battle.
PDF videos show a heavy firefight between the resistance groups and the flotilla.
As of Wednesday, the flotilla had stopped at the port of Kani.
On Monday, the flotilla and an additional two combat boats was attacked by another Kani-based resistance group in the south of the township.
After the clash, the PDFs seized ammunition and military equipment dumped by the flotilla in the river.
On Wednesday, local residents found the body of a regime soldier floating in the Chindwin River. He is believed to have been killed in Monday’s ambush.
Kani is one of the strongholds of armed resistance to the regime, having started rebelling against the junta in April last year.
Currently, junta forces face daily attacks by PDFs and ethnic armed organizations across the country.
