Nearly 50 Myanmar Junta Troops Killed in Three Days of Resistance Attacks
By The Irrawaddy 23 January 2023
At least 47 Myanmar junta forces including pro-regime militia members were killed in the last three days as People’s Defense Force groups (PDF) and ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) continued to attack regime targets across the country.
Four civilians and three resistance members were killed in junta attacks.
In one case, resistance forces seized and burned down a military outpost in Kayah State.
Incidents were reported in Sagaing, Magwe and Bago regions and Chin, Kayah and Mon states.
The Irrawaddy has collected the following reports of significant attacks from PDFs and EAOs.
Some military casualty figures could not be independently verified.
Junta outpost seized by resistance groups in Kayah
The Karenni Nationalities Defense Force (KNDF) claimed that it and several PDF groups including the Karenni Army managed to seize and burn down a military outpost on a mountain in Bawlakhe Township, Kayah State last Friday.
During the raid, the bodies of five dead soldiers were found at the outpost. The rest of the regime forces abandoned the base. A resistance fighter was also killed in the raid, said the KNDF.
The resistance forces managed to seize the junta outpost despite heavy junta artillery and air strikes.
Ammunition and many weapons were also seized, said the KNDF.
Seventeen regime forces killed in PDF attacks in Magwe
At least 17 regime forces including pro-regime Pyu Saw Htee militia members were killed in two days of attacks in Pakokkou and Pauk townships, Magwe Region on Friday and Saturday, said Myaing-PDF, which conducted the attacks.
Early on Saturday morning, the PDF fighters used land mines to ambush six military vehicles from three locations on the Pakokku-Kanma road in Pakokku Township. In the ambushes, 11 regime troops were killed and eight others injured.
On Friday, five junta troops including a militia member were killed in the township when Myaing-PDF attacked regime forces in a civilian vehicle near Kantaw Village.
During the ambush, regimes forces from nearby Hponekan Village used heavy explosives to target the resistance forces. A regime soldier was reportedly accidentally killed while shelling the PDF forces.
On the same day, Myaing-PDF and another PDF group jointly attacked regime forces at two military checkpoints in Pauk Township, Magwe Region. Many regime troops are thought to have been killed or injured, Myaing-PDF claimed.
Police outpost bombed by PDF drone in Magwe
Local PDF group Eagle Force claimed that it used a drone to drop a bomb on a police outpost in Yaynathar Village in Kanma Township, Magwe Region on Sunday. Military casualties were unknown.
Regime forces bombed by PDF drone in Magwe
A drone drops a bomb on regime targets in Pauk Township last Friday. / PRF
A junta soldier was killed and two others injured in Pauk Township, Magwe Region last Friday when Pauk Revolution Front used a drone to drop bombs on regime forces stationed at a school in Ohntaw Village, said the resistance group, which conduct the drone strike.
Three civilian hostages, PDF fighter killed in upper Sagaing
A PDF fighter and a junta soldier were killed in an intense clash between 130 regime forces and combined PDF groups including the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in Tigyaing Township, Sagaing Region last Friday, according to local news site Indaw Revoltuion.
In the clash, four regime soldiers were also injured. The military detachment killed three civilian detainees who were abducted from Lal Hmee Village as hostages.
Resistance forces discovered the bodies of the three civilian detainees as well as the body of a soldier who was killed in the clash.
Fierce clash breaks out in Sagaing
Many regime forces are believed to have been killed or injured in Myaung Township, Sagaing Region last Friday when 15 resistance groups jointly attacked a military detachment shelling villages without reason, said Civilians’ Defense and Security Organization of Myaung (CDSOM), which coordinated the attack.
Resistance groups were forced to attack the military detachment of 60 troops after it shelled Suu Lay Kone Village, killing a villager and seriously injuring three others including a Buddhist monk.
The PDF groups ambushed the military detachment while it was returning to its base in Kyaukyit Village.
At the same time, other PDF groups used a drone and improvised rocket-launched bombs to attack the police station in Kyaukyit Village.
Five pro-regime militia members killed in PDF raid in Sagaing
Five pro-regime Pyu Saw Htee militia members and a resistance fighter were killed during a shootout in the pro-regime village of Sin Ai Ma near the border of Mingin and Kalewa townships in Sagaing Region last Friday, said Mingin Revolution, a media wing of local resistance forces.
The clash broke out as at least four PDF groups jointly raided the pro-regime village.
Three regime troops killed in PDF attack in Sagaing
At least three junta troops were killed in Kawlin Township, Sagaing Region on Sunday when Kawlin District PDF Battalion 1 and local resistance forces jointly attacked a military detachment of 53 troops from military Light Infantry Battalion 363 near Wayonekhone Village, said Kawlin Revolution, the media wing of local PDF groups.
After an hourlong clash, all PDF fighters retreated from the area without casualties.
Military checkpoint raided in Sagaing
Resistance fighters attack a military checkpoint in Myinmu Township on Sunday. / Zero Guerrilla Force
Three regime forces were killed and two others injured in Myinmu Township, Sagaing Region on Sunday when three PDF groups raided a military checkpoint at Htee Saung Village, claimed Zero Guerrilla Force, which took part in the raid.
Soldiers at the checkpoint were extorting money from civilian vehicles, the PDF group said.
Two junta soldiers killed in PDF drone strike in Sagaing
A drone drops a bomb on a junta base in Ayadaw Township on Sunday. / Danger Force
Local resistance group Danger Force claimed to have killed two regime troops and injured six others when they used a drone to drop two bombs on a military checkpoint in Ayadaw Township, Sagaing Region on Saturday.
After being bombed some regime forces searched for PDF fighters on the streets and randomly opened fire.
Junta police officer assassinated in Mon
Local resistance group Ye-Belu claimed to have assassinated police officer Hein Thura in the town of Ye in Mon State on Saturday.
The police officer took bribes to allow drug dealers and gambling businesses to operate in the town, Ye-Belu said, citing the reports of residents.
Nine regime forces killed in PDF raid in Chin
At least nine junta soldiers were killed and many other injured in Matupi Township, Chin State on Saturday morning when Chinland Defense Force-Matupi raided a regime base on the Mindat-Matupi highway, said the resistance group.
Resistance forces also ambushed a detachment of junta reinforcements traveling to military bases under attack by the PDF. During the attack, a military weapon was seized. There were no resistance casualties, CDF-Matupi claimed.
Junta-run General Administration Department office bombed in Bago
Bago Region PDF claimed that one of its PDF groups, Tharyarwaddy District PDF Battalion 3801, used a remote-controlled bomb to attack the regime-run General Administration Department office in Gyobingauk Township, Bago Region last Friday.
The office was collecting voter lists for the junta’s coming sham election. In the attack, three regime forces were injured. After being bombed, regime forces guarding the office opened fire at random.
