Lieutenant Colonel Among 56 Myanmar Junta Soldiers Killed in Week of Clashes With Resistance

By The Irrawaddy 2 November 2022

A military battalion commander was among 56 regime forces killed during a number of clashes with People’s Defense Force groups (PDFs) and ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) across the country in the last seven days.

A PDF fighter was also killed.

Incidents were reported in Mandalay, Magwe and Sagaing regions and Rakhine and Karen states.

The Irrawaddy has rounded up the following reports of significant clashes between regime forces and resistance groups comprising PDFs and EAOs.

Some military casualty figures could not be independently verified.

Five junta soldiers including battalion commander killed in Magwe

At least five regime soldiers including a lieutenant colonel serving as a battalion commander were reportedly killed and four injured in Tilin Township, Magwe Region on Tuesday when Yaw Defense Force-Tilin ambushed a military detachment of 150 soldiers and Pyu Saw Htee pro-regime militia members.

The detachment was conducting a raid on Par Myin Village after torching 16 houses in nearby Kyarkhae Village when it was ambushed by resistance fighters.

All resistance fighters escaped from the area despite regime forces’ attempts to arrest them, the group said.

Citing military informants, the PDF group claimed the battalion commander died later after suffering injuries to his waist.

The commander’s death prompted the military detachment to retreat to the town of Tilin that evening.

Regime forces killed, injured by PDF time bombs in Magwe

At least two regime forces were killed and nine others injured in Salin Township, Magwe Region on Tuesday when PDF-Western Region used two C4 time bombs to attack a regime checkpoint at a junction in the township, the PDF group said.

Two regime motorbikes were damaged in the attack.

Junta forces at the checkpoint are notorious for extortion and rude treatment of civilians, the PDF group said.

Three junta police killed in PDF urban attack in Mandalay

Three junta police including a female police captain were reportedly killed in Maharaungmyay Township in the city of Mandalay on Tuesday morning when PDF fighters threw a bomb into the driver’s cabin of a prison transport vehicle near a police station, claimed Mandalay-PDF, which conducted the attack.

On the same day, combined urban resistance groups used a cluster of three land mines to ambush a regime convoy of three vehicles in Aungmyaythazan Township in the city, said Generation Z Power, which joined the attack.

Many regime forces are believed to have been killed as two vehicles were stopped and junta forces’ cries were heard from the vehicles, the PDF group said.

PDF fighter killed in clash in Karen

A resistance fighter was killed and two others injured during an intense clash with regime forces trying to enter the town of Kawkareik in Karen State on Tuesday afternoon, according to PDF groups.

A fierce, five-hour clash broke out outside the town when the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) and allied PDF groups based around Kawkareik attacked a large number of regime forces attempting to raid the town.

After suffering casualties, the regime forces retreated from the area. Details of the military casualties were unknown, said the PDF group Lion Battalion Commando, which was involved in the clash.

24 regime soldiers killed in clashes with AA in Rakhine

Around 24 Myanmar military soldiers were killed and many others injured during clashes with the Arakan Army (AA) in several townships in Rakhine State over the past week, the AA said on Tuesday.

Clashes were reported in Buthedaung, Rathedaung, Kyauktaw and Mrauk-U townships and Paletwa Township in neighboring Chin State.

Regime bases in the area also shelled civilian villages without provocation, the AA said.

Five junta soldiers killed or injured in Sagaing

Five regime troops are believed to have been killed or injured in Kanbalu Township, Sagaing Region on Monday when local resistance groups used land mines to ambush junta soldiers raiding a series of villages in the township, according to one of the resistance organizations, Kotaungbo Revolution.

The regime forces escaped the first mine ambush near Kaine Ma Village, but were hit by additional land mines while they were leaving Pauk Kone Village in the township.

After being ambushed, the surviving military troops took five soldiers who were killed or injured in a vehicle to Kotaungbo Village, where junta forces have been stationed for several months, the resistance group said.

Five junta soldiers killed in Sagaing

Five regime soldiers were reportedly killed in Shwebo Township, Sagaing Region early on Tuesday morning when six PDF groups jointly attacked regime forces stationed in Kawt Village in the township using 40-mm and 60-mm mortar shells, said Nay Satkyar PDF group, which joined the attack.

Regime forces responded with small arms fire but all PDF fighters escaped from the area without any casualties.

On Oct. 27 and 28, another four regime soldiers were killed when combined resistance groups attacked and ambushed junta forces stationed in Kawt Village, the PDF group said.

Five regime forces killed by PDF shelling in Sagaing

Five regime forces were reportedly killed in Monywa Township, Sagaing Region on Sunday when at least seven local PDF groups used improvised mortar shells to attack a police station and newly built junta prison near Tharsi Village, claimed the One Star PDF group, which was involved in the attack.

Five regime forces killed in PDF raid on junta camp in Sagaing

Five regime forces were killed in Mingin Township, Sagaing Region early on Tuesday when two battalions of the Student Revolutionary Force raided a military camp in the pro-regime village of Thay Mathout, said the PDF group.

The group seized three weapons during the raid.

During the 30-minute clash, two PDF fighters suffered injuries, the group said.

Two soldiers killed in PDF drone strike in Sagaing

A blast occurs near a tree after a PDF done drops an improvised bomb on regime targets in Myinmu Township. / Zero Guerrilla Force-Myingyan District

Zero Guerrilla Force-Myingyan District from Mandalay Region claimed to have killed two regime soldiers and injured six others in neighboring Myinmu Township, Sagaing Region on Tuesday when they used a drone to drop a bomb on regime forces in Htee Saung Village.

Aerial video taken by the PDF shows a blast occurring near a tree after a drone drops an improvised bomb.