The Myanmar junta lost more bases and dozens of troops over the past three days as People’s Defense Force groups (PDFs) and ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) stepped up attacks on regime targets across the country.
In one case, an ethnic army rescued nearly 100 civilian detainees who had been used as human shields by junta troops in Pauktaw town, Rakhine State on Tuesday.
Incidents were reported in Rakhine, Shan and Chin states and Sagaing, Magwe and Bago regions.
The Irrawaddy has collected the following reports of significant attacks from PDFs and EAOs.
Some military casualties could not be independently verified.
Nearly 100 civilian hostages evacuated by ethnic resistance in Rakhine
Joint resistance forces conduct drone strikes on regime targets in Yesagyo Township on Monday. / Daung Thway Ni Guerrilla Force
Ethnic Rakhine armed group the Arakan Army (AA) said it managed to evacuate nearly 100 civilians including children and some monks after a heavy clash with regime forces in Pauktaw town, Rakhine State on Tuesday.
A junta unit of 100 troops recaptured the town from the hands of the AA after junta aircraft and gunboats bombed the town last Thursday. Since then, the Myanmar military has arrested around 100 trapped civilians and used them as human shields, the AA said.
On Tuesday, the AA attacked regime forces in the town and rescued civilian detainees amid heavy bombardment by junta aircraft, gunboats and artillery units in the nearby Rakhine State capital Sittwe.
The junta suffered heavy losses during the clash and some AA troops were also killed, the ethnic armed group said.
Three more junta bases fall to resistance forces in northern Shan
The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) said it attacked and seized three more junta bases along with a large haul of weapons and ammunition in the north and center of the Kokang area in northern Shan State as part of Operation 1027 on Tuesday.
The ethnic rebel group said it also conducted three drone strikes on the military’s 291st Battalion in Hseni Township, northern Shan on Tuesday.
Another member of the Brotherhood Alliance, the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), said it attacked the Mine Kyat junta base in Lashio Township, northern Shan State, forcing the junta to use fighter jets to defend the base on Tuesday.
Junta base seized in Chin
PDF (Zoland) claimed to have seized the junta base on Kennedy Peak in Tedim Township, Chin State early on Tuesday morning.
During the raid, five regime forces and a resistance member were killed. Eleven other regime forces including a major were arrested after fleeing the resistance raid.
The resistance forces seized 24 weapons, ammunition and an anti-drone jammer. In the afternoon, a junta Mi-35 helicopter gunship attacked resistance forces at the junta base.
Police station raided in Bago
At least one police officer was killed in Thayawady Township, Bago Region on Monday night when Thayawady-based resistance groups raided the police station in Thonze town, said Bago Region PDF.
During the raid, junta police went into hiding and were unable to respond to the attack. After the resistance raid, regime soldiers stopped and checked vehicles on the Yangon-Pyay Highway.
Resistance groups burn junta police station amid air strikes in Sagaing
Wetlet PDF told The Irrawaddy that several resistance groups led by Shwebo District PDF battalions 1 and 2 occupied and burned down a police station manned by 20 police officers in Shwe Pan Kone Village on the Shwebo-Monywa road in Wetlet Township, Sagaing Region on Tuesday.
An Mi-35 helicopter gunship and a fighter jet were used to defend the police stronghold, but failed.
During the raid, six policemen were killed and another arrested while the rest of the police officers fled. There were resistance casualties, Wetlet PDF said.
Military checkpoint bombed in Magwe
Arakan Army forces evacuate nearly 100 civilian detainees rescued from regime forces during a clash in Pauktaw town on Tuesday. / AA
At least four regime soldiers suffered serious injuries in Yesagyo Township, Magwe Region on Monday when three resistance groups used improvised remote-controlled airplanes to drop bombs on the Taung O military checkpoint, said the Daung Thway Ni guerrilla force, which took part in the drone strikes.
Injured soldiers were hospitalized, said the resistance groups, citing a military informant. They said the military checkpoint was extorting money from civilian vehicles.
