Dozens of Myanmar Junta Forces Killed in Five Days of Resistance Attacks
By The Irrawaddy 17 May 2023
At least 37 Myanmar junta troops were killed in the last five days as People’s Defense Forces (PDF) and an ethnic armed organization (EAO) continued to attack regime targets across the country.
Incidents were reported in Tanintharyi, Bago, Mandalay and Sagaing regions and Kayah and Karen states.
The Irrawaddy has rounded up the following reports of significant attacks from the PDFs and EAO.
Some military casualty figures could not be independently verified.
Regime forces bombed in Tanintharyi
Resistance groups shell regime forces in Maung Mal Shaung Village in Dawei Township last Friday. / Oak Owe Column (Dawei)
Oak Awe Column (Dawei), which comprises several local PDF groups, claimed to have killed 18 junta soldiers when it used 40-mm and 60-mm mortar rounds to shell regime forces preparing to build a junta outpost near Maung Mal Shaung Village in Dawei Township, Tanintharyi Region last Friday.
The PDF groups conducted the attack after using drones to scout the location of regime forces.
All resistance members retreated from the area without any casualties.
On Sunday, Oak Awe Column said it coordinated with Dawei Collective Column to kill Ko Nay Min, a Pyu Saw Htee militia member trained and armed by the military regime at Pakaryi Village in the township.
The victim was notorious for oppressing residents and had served as a guide for military detachments in the township.
Military checkpoint raided in Tanintharyi
At least two regime soldiers were killed and three injured during a clash in Dawei Township, Tanintharyi Region on Sunday when local resistance groups jointly raided a military checkpoint on the Yangon-Dawei highway in Phayar Mae Village, local media were told by Dawei District PDF Battalion 1, which coordinated the attack.
During an hourlong firefight, two PDF fighters were also injured by junta explosives.
Junta base raided in Mandalay
At least five regime forces including pro-junta Pyu Saw Htee militia members were killed in Myingyan Township, Mandalay Region on Saturday when 10 PDF groups attempted to occupy a military base in Nal Char Village, said the resistance group Myingyan Ranger, which joined the raid.
The PDF fighters managed to enter the junta base, but were forced to retreat before they could seize the camp due to bad weather triggered by Cyclone Mocha.
Five regime forces killed in ambush, clash in Bago
Bago Region PDF said its member Pyay District PDF Battalion 3601 managed to kill three regime forces during a land-mine ambush of five regime forces who were traveling to collect drinking water from a creek in Paungde Township, Bago Region on Monday evening.
After the ambush, regime forces stationed at a monastery in nearby Thein Kone Village randomly opened fire in the area as they evacuated injured soldiers and retrieved the bodies of dead troops.
On Saturday, two Pyay District PDF Battalions clashed with a military detachment traveling in the Bago Yoma mountain range in Paungde Township, killing two soldiers and injuring five others.
Regime forces ambushed in Sagaing
Resistance fighters attack regime forces at Technology University in Monywa town on Monday. / MFG
At least three regime forces were killed in Monywa town, Sagaing Region on Monday morning when three PDF groups jointly conducted a surprise attack on regime forces stationed at Technology University, said the urban resistance organization Monywa Fighter Group, which joined the ambush.
Fierce clash breaks out in Kayah
Resistance fighters of Demoso PDF engage in a clash with regime forces in Demoso Township on Tuesday. / Demoso PDF
Some regime forces are thought to have been killed or injured in Demoso Township, Kayah State on Tuesday evening when Demoso PDF members clashed with regime troops on a mountain, said Demoso PDF group.
All PDF fighters retreated from the clash site without casualties after regime troops fired a large number of heavy explosives.
Clashes continue in Karen
Resistance fighters of Cobra Column during a recent clash with regime forces in Myawaddy Township / Squadron 4 of Cobra column
At least three regime forces were killed and a dozen injured in Myawaddy Township, Karen State on Sunday and Monday as combined resistance groups including the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), the armed wing of the Karen Nation Union, attacked a large number of regime forces attempting to occupy areas controlled by the resistance groups, said Cobra Column, which coordinated the resistance attacks.
The Myanmar junta has been attempting to occupy the areas for months by deploying a large number of troops from several military battalions as well as several aircraft and heavy weapons.
