Around ten Myanmar junta soldiers were killed on Wednesday in a mine attack in Sagaing Region’s Tigyaing Township.
On Wednesday morning, an alliance of local resistance groups ambushed the regime troops with three mines while they were traveling between Kyat Ta Kaung Village and Pay Kone Village, on the eastern banks of the Ayeyarwady River.
Some 100 military regime soldiers were advancing along the riverbank, providing security for three ships sailing upriver to Katha Township with junta reinforcements, said a member of the Special 9 Tigyaing People’s Defense Force (PDF).
The ships had departed Mandalay on Saturday and were carrying around 100 troops in each vessel, as well as supplies of food and ammunition.
Local resistance groups launched an attack on the flotilla on Monday using improvised rocket launchers, as the ships passed through Mandalay Region’s Thabeikkyin Township. One vessel was hit and number of junta soldiers killed and injured, according to local sources. The Irrawaddy was unable to verify casualty figures independently.
The flotilla reached Tigyaing Township on Wednesday, when the mine attack took place.
A member of the Special 9 Tigyaing PDF said: “The soldiers threatened local residents to pick up the injured soldiers with a motorboat.”
Sagaing Region is one of the strongholds of the resistance movement and regime troops from 13 battalion, based in Thabeikkyin Township, often raid villages in the east of Tigyaing Township.
Local PDFs have responded with frequent mine attacks on regime forces.
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