At Least 45 Myanmar Junta Personnel Killed in Two Days of Attacks by Resistance

By The Irrawaddy 17 November 2022

At least 45 regime soldiers and other personnel including junta informants and a pro-regime militia member were killed in the last two days as People’s Defense Force groups (PDFs) continued to attack regime forces across the country.

Meanwhile, at least 15 civilians including children were killed and many others injured when the military junta bombed civilian targets without provocation.

Incidents were reported in Rakhine and Kayah states and Mandalay, Sagaing and Yangon regions.

The Irrawaddy has collected the following reports of significant attacks by PDFs as well as the junta’s latest atrocities.

Some military casualties could not be independently verified.

14 civilians including children killed in junta artillery strikes in Rakhine

Eleven civilians including two children aged 8 and 6 were killed and 20 others were injured in Maungdaw Township, Rakhine State on Wednesday when a military battalion shelled a crowd attending a child’s naming ceremony in nearby Jitchaung Village, said local media outlets and the ethnic Arakan Army (AA).

That morning, three civilians were killed and three injured in Rakhine’s Kyauktaw Township when an artillery round fired by the military’s Light Infantry Battalion 539 hit Chaungto Village.

The military junta is brazenly committing war crimes by intentionally targeting civilians without provocation, the AA said.

Kindergarten shelled in Kayah

A 5-year-old girl was killed and eight civilians injured in Demoso Township, Kayah State on Tuesday when three out of five artillery rounds fired by military Battalion 102 hit the nursery school in the west of the township, according to residents.

A photo shows the destroyed roof of the school building after the junta artillery strikes.

Six junta soldiers burning houses killed in Sagaing

At least six regime soldiers were killed in Myaung Township, Sagaing Region on Tuesday when local PDF groups jointly attacked regime forces burning houses in Nagar Pauk Village in the township, a representative of the Civil Defense and Security Organization of Myaung (CDSOM), which was involved in the attack, told local media.

After being attacked, the regime forces fled the village by crossing the Irrawaddy River in motorboats.

Prior to burning them down, the regime forces looted the houses of fleeing villagers, the PDF group said.

On the previous day, five regime troops were killed in an ambush by PDF groups while heading to Nagar Pauk Village, according to CDSOM.

Five regime forces killed in Sagaing

Resistance forces uses improvised mortar rounds to shell regime targets in Ayadaw Township on Tuesday. / Danger Force

At least five regime soldiers are believed to have been killed in Ayadaw Township, Sagaing Region on Tuesday when four PDF groups jointly shelled regime forces who were performing security duty along the Monwya-Ayadaw highway for a regime official traveling in the area, claimed Danger Force-Local PDF group, which was involved in the attack.

The group said it used five 80-mm improvised mortar rounds to shell regime patrols near Thit Kyin Gyi branch line on the highway.

The PDF’s video shows resistance fighters using improvised mortar rounds to shell regime targets.

Four junta informants assassinated in Sagaing

Resistance group Thugs with Beautiful Hearts claimed on Wednesday that it and five other PDF groups killed four military informants in Myaung Township, Sagaing Region for guiding junta troops to raid Myit Sone Village in recent days.

The village faced three arson attacks by regime forces in a single day on Sunday.

The PDF group also urged all junta informants and pro-regime supporters to stand on the side of the people instead of the military regime.

Two regime forces killed in PDF attack in Sagaing

Two junta soldiers were killed in Myinmu Township, Sagaing Region early Wednesday when two PDF groups used grenades to attack regime sentries at the factory, claimed Zero Guerrilla Forces, which coordinated the attack.

Six military troops killed in Sagaing

Katha-PDF group claimed that it and the All Burma Students’ Democratic Front (ABSDF) killed six regime forces and injured three others when they ambushed a military detachment of 150 troops near Hae Nar Village in the township on Tuesday.

All resistance troops managed to escape from the area without casualties.

Army officer killed in PDF raid in Sagaing

An army captain was killed in Kale Township, Sagaing Region on Wednesday when the Vakok-Chin National Defense Force raided regime forces stationed in Myauk See Village.

In the raid, two small guns, grenades, a motorbike and some cash were seized, the PDF group said.

A video shot by the PDF group shows resistance fighters raiding the village.

20 soldiers killed in Mandalay

A military convoy is hit by a mine ambush by PDF groups in Madaya Township, Mandalay Region early on Wednesday morning. / From Mandalay Free Press Facebook

At least 20 regime forces were reportedly killed in Madaya Township, Mandalay Region on Wednesday when combined PDF groups used land mines to ambush a military convoy, local media reported, citing a statement from the resistance group that conducted the ambush.

At 3 a.m. Wednesday, the PDF groups used a cluster of eight land mines to ambush three military vehicles between two villages, Natsoe Underground Resistance group, which was involved in the attack, told the media.

In the attack, a vehicle crashed into the roadside and another crashed into a tree, the PDF group said.

In a PDF video, gunfire can be heard coming from the convoy after it was hit by the blasts.

Pro-regime militia member assassinated in Tanintharyi

Local resistance group Dawei Defense Team claimed to have assassinated pro-regime Pyu Saw Htee militia member Ko Phyo in a village in Launglon Township, Tanintharyi Region on Wednesday.

He was accused of helping regime forces kill two civilians in Dawei and Launglon townships.

The PDF group said the victim repeatedly refused to follow its warnings.

Regime forces bombed in Yangon

Some regime forces are believed to have been injured in Yangon Region’s Mingalardon Township, where many military bases and military hospitals are located, on Wednesday afternoon when two urban resistance groups used two remote-controlled bombs to attack junta forces, said Young Defense Power Force, which joined the attack.

The group said it targeted regime forces who were inspecting vehicles and seizing motorbikes near a junction on the Yangon-Pyay highway.

The group also urged civilians to stay away from regime forces.