22nd June 2021
The resistance is getting stronger. In Mandalay, anti-junta cells are in operation but are having to deal with informants. The way the conflicts are developing there will be an increase in bodies floating down the Irrawaddy river.
A Mandalay civilian resistance group fighting against the military regime said two of its members were killed and six arrested by junta troops following a raid on one of the group’s bases on Tuesday morning.
Fighting broke out between the People’s Defense Force Mandalay (Mdy PDF) and the troops during the raid in the city’s Chanmyathazi Township.
On Tuesday afternoon, military-run Myawady TV said eight PDF fighters were killed and eight arrested during the shootout, while some junta troops were seriously injured.
However, the person in charge of the Mandalay PDF’s urban guerrilla warfare unit, who uses the pseudonym Bo Tun Tauk Naing, told The Irrawaddy that only two resistance fighters were killed.
“Among the six arrested are civil servants on strike and students. Some weapons were also seized,” he said.
Junta troops reportedly raided a boarding school where PDF fighters were based in Hton Tone ward at around 7.30 a.m.
“They sniffed us out. They came to our base at between 111st and 112nd streets on 54th Street and we shot at them as they came,” Bo Tun Tauk Naing said.
PDF fighters attempted to withdraw from the base as their colleagues from other parts of the town rushed to rescue them.
Junta forces used grenades in the fighting, the PDF said. Junta troops also used snipers and armored vehicles in the clash.
“Junta troops arrived around 7 a.m. and opened fire at 111st and 54th streets. It was not heavy shooting. Then there was an exchange of fire between 8 a.m. and 8.30 a.m. So far, junta troops have not yet raided houses. But they are detaining every man on sight,” a resident of Hton Tone Ward said in the morning while the clash was still going on.
He said he heard the sounds of machine guns and grenades. Locals stayed indoors during the shootout, he said.
Following the fighting, the US and Canadian embassies in Yangon on Tuesday called for a cessation of violence and for the protection of civilians, saying they were disturbed and concerned by the fighting in Mandalay.
The Mandalay PDF was formed by local resistance fighters who underwent military training provided by ethnic armed groups. They operate under the parallel National Unity Government.
Source The Irrawaddy 22nd June 2021.
Meanwhile, miles away in Karen state the Junta hit trouble.
Eight junta troops died and four others were injured in clashes with the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) in Hpa-an, Karen State, on Monday, according to the Karen National Union (KNU).
The combined forces of Myanmar’s military and Karen Border Guard Force (BGF) clashed with Brigade 1 of the KNLA, the armed wing of the KNU, in four locations on Monday in Hpa-an.
Brigade 1 is active in Hpa-an, Kyaikto, Thaton and Bilin townships. Clashes erupted near four villages in Hpa-an because junta troops and the BGF entered the area without prior notice, said a Brigade 1 officer.
“There was an encounter as they didn’t notify us about their movements. Their troops were deployed on roads near Mee Pon and Lel Taw Gyi villages. We only came across them as we passed,” he said.
Each skirmish only lasted a few minutes and KNLA troops retreated. Eight junta troops died, and four others were injured while the KNLA suffered no casualties, said the officer. The military was unavailable for comment.
There have now been 10 clashes between Brigade 1 and Myanmar’s military since the February coup, according to the brigade.
Junta reinforcements have since arrived.
The Irrawaddy 22nd June 2021.
The interesting thing to come out of this clash is that the Junta hadn’t informed the KNLA of their movements. It raises the question of who is in control of the territory.
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