Three Myanmar military motorboats have reportedly been sunk during a series of daring attacks over the past three days by civilian resistance groups in Kani Township, Sagaing Region.
The People’s Defense Forces (PDF) used improvised bomb launchers and underwater bombs in the attacks.
Since December 2, eight military motorboats and gunboats escorting three barges reportedly transporting jade from Kachin State along the Chindwin River have come under attack from several PDFs in Mingin and Kani townships in Sagaing.
On Sunday, a combined force of Kani civilian resistance groups attacked the military flotilla using 20 underwater bombs. Later the same day, there was a firefight between the PDFs and the military convoy.
Dozens of junta soldiers were injured in the attacks, according to the PDFs. However, the number of military fatalities is unknown.
Kani-PDF said on Monday that one military vessel damaged by underwater bombs in Sunday’s attack sank on Monday morning near Maedin Village in Kani Township.
On Friday morning, two of the military motorboats in the 11 vessel flotilla were reportedly sunk after a 45 minute firefight with the Kani PDFs near Taung Koelone Village, a Kani-PDF leader told The Irrawaddy.
During the battle, the regime forces were forced to ground one of the motorboats after it sustained serious damage. The junta troops were then attacked on land with landmines. There were around seven regime casualties.
Three civilian resistance fighters suffered minor injuries in the shootout, according to the Kani-PDF.
By Monday, only seven of the 11 vessels in the flotilla were still moving downstream along the Chindwin River towards Monywa, according to the PDFs.
The military regime is now facing intensifying resistance and attacks from PDFs and ethnic armed groups across the country.
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