At least 31 regime forces including two army captains and a pro-regime militia leader were killed in the last three days as People’s Defense Force groups (PDFs) and ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) continued to attack regime targets across the country.
Incidents were reported in Mandalay, Magwe, Sagaing and Bago regions and Karen and Kayah states.
The Irrawaddy has collected the following reports of significant attacks by PDFs and EAOs.
Some military casualties could not be independently verified.
Nine junta soldiers killed by PDF land mines in Sagaing
Local resistance group Tawgyi Mway Pyawe claimed to have killed nine regime forces and injured another in Madaya Township, Sagaing Region on Monday when it used land mines to ambush a military detachment departing from a village.
After receiving a tipoff, the 25 regime forces managed to avoid one minefield laid by the PDF group. However, the regime forces were hit when they walked into a second minefield, the group said.
Regime forces shelled by PDF groups in Sagaing
Kyauk Lonegyi PDF group claimed that it and two other PDF groups used 40 rounds of 60-mm improvised mortar shells on Monday to attack pro-regime Alal Ywar Village, which serves as a base for military forces and Pyu Saw Htee militia members in Kani Township, Sagaing Region.
They attacked the village because the military regime forces and militia members were seizing the agricultural products and farmlands of villagers who have been forced to flee the area.
A video shot by the PDF group shows resistance forces firing improvised mortar shells.
Resistance fighters fire improvised mortar rounds in Kani Township, Sagaing Region on Monday. / Kyauk Lonegyi-PDF
Details of regime casualties were unknown.
Four regime forces killed in Sagaing
Four regime forces were killed and five others injured in Indaw Township, Sagaing Region on Sunday when the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and allied PDF groups attacked 100 regime forces traveling to Nann Ma Kyaing Village in the township, said Indaw Revolution, the media wing of the local PDF groups.
On Monday, another clash broke out in the township when combined resistance forces attacked a military detachment of 80 junta troops near Kann Ni Village. In the clash, many regime forces are believed to have been killed or injured.
Citing witnesses, the local news site reported that the bodies of killed or injured soldiers were taken to the town of Indaw via express passenger vehicle and the detachment had around 60 forces remaining after the clash.
Five junta troops killed in Sagaing
Five regime forces were killed in Myaung Township, Sagaing Region on Sunday when four PDF groups jointly ambushed a military detachment that was raiding and burning houses in villages near the border areas of Myaung and Yesagyo townships in Magwe Region, said Justice Revolution Force-Myaung, which was involved in the ambush.
Many regime forces were also believed to have been injured in the ambush. After the ambush, an Mi-35 military helicopter gunship attacked the area for an hour.
However, all PDF fighters managed to escape without casualties, the PDF groups said.
Seven regime forces including captain killed in Magwe
At least seven regime forces were killed in Myaing Township, Magwe Region on Sunday and Monday when local PDF groups ambushed regime targets.
On Sunday evening, two PDF groups used firearms and three land mines to ambush a military
detachment along with vehicles and motorbikes near Kan Kalay Village in the township, said Myaing-PDF.
The regime forces were ambushed as they were departing from the village after burning civilian houses.
In the ambush, five regime troops including a captain and a pro-regime Pyu Saw Htee militia leader were killed, the PDF group claimed. The dead bodies of regime forces were taken by the junta forces to a village while transporting injured forces to the town of Pakokku, the PDF groups said.
A motorbike abandoned by the regime forces was seized by PDF fighters.
Two more soldiers were also killed in the township when the PDF groups used land mines and firearms to ambush two military vehicles traveling from a pro-regime village to their base in the township.
One more regime soldier was gunned down when the PDF groups attacked regime forces in bunkers outside of the town at 3 a.m. Monday, Myaing-PDF claimed.
Fierce clash continues in Karen
A fierce clash between regime forces and combined Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) and PDF forces continued to rage in Myawaddy Township, Karen State on Sunday.
The junta forces from military battalions 207 and 102 attempted to raid the area of Luu Khoe Nyaung Chaung in the township by shelling it with 120-mm and 81-mm heavy explosives the whole day from 3 a.m. to 5 p.m., said KNLA’s Cobra Column, which coordinated the defensive actions.
After sustaining heavy damages in the clash, regime forces retreated from the area. There were no resistance casualties, the Karen resistance group said.
Eight junta troops injured by PDF land mines in Bago
Some regime troops are believed to have been killed when at least eight were hit by land mine attacks by Paungde-PDF in Paungde Township, Bago Region on Saturday, the PDF group said on Monday.
First, the PDF group used a cluster of six land mines to ambush 50 regime forces raiding the Bago Mountain Range that afternoon. In the ambush, three regime forces were injured seriously, the Paungde-PDF claimed.
Five more soldiers were also injured seriously when the regime forces faced another mine ambush by the PDF group using a cluster of mines.
Three junta forces including captain killed in Kayah
Battalion 10 of the Karenni Nationalities Defense Force (KNDF) claimed to have killed three regime forces including a captain when it ambushed five junta troops transporting rations to a military camp in Lawpita, a small town in Loikaw Township in Kayah State on Sunday.
In the ambush, the military camp in Lawpita supported its ground troops with heavy explosives. Two regime soldiers escaped the ambush, said the resistance group.
In the ambush, a weapon, four magazines and a mobile phone were seized.
In the past two weeks, a total of 13 clashes with regime force have broken out across Kayah State and at least nine junta troops have been killed, resistance groups said.
Three soldiers killed in Mandalay
Three junta soldiers were killed and many others injured in Mandalay city, Mandalay Region on Sunday when three PDF groups used two 75-mm explosives to attack a military checkpoint on the Mandalay-Madaya highway in Patehingyi Township, said Patheingyi-PDF, which was involved in the attack.
Resistance forces escaped from the area without any casualties despite junta patrol troops nearby randomly opening fire.
