In Myanmar, 35 Junta soldiers slain by Resistance Groups in Sagaing & Bago regions

On February 8, nearly 35 Myanmar junta soldiers were slain in ambushes and attacks by the people's defence forces (PDFs) in the Sagaing and Bago areas, The Irrawaddy reported. Seven resistance forces assaulted a military convoy with mines on the Pale-Yinmabin Highway in Sagaing's Yinmabin township, killing or injuring 22 soldiers. The attackers claimed to have used 41 mines in their assault.

According to the Wolf Guerrilla Revolution Force, which took part in the ambush, three other PDFs assaulted troops attempting to raid Ma Daunggyi village in Sagaing Region, killing at least six junta soldiers. Seven resistance groups invaded Inmahtee hamlet, where members of the Pyu Saw Htee militia were based, on Tuesday morning in Pale Township, Sagaing. 

According to the People Revolution Army, which participated in the operation, two Pyu Saw Htee members were killed and a resistance fighter was injured. Gyobingauk PDF claimed responsibility for an attack on a Pyu Saw Htee camp in Myaypyar village, Gyobingauk township, Bago region, on Tuesday night, killing five militia members, including three commanders.

A year after the February 1, 2021 coup, Myanmar junta military has been struggling to maintain control of the country and clashes with civilian resistance forces, and ethnic armed groups allied with them have intensified nationwide. According to various media reports, the Southeast Asian country has seen a surge in violent clashes between its military and organised groups of armed civilians since the power grab.

2 civilians killed in fight between Myanmar regime forces and Arakan Army

Since the coup, over 12,000 people have been killed in political violence, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, with conflicts increasing drastically since August. Moreover, at least two civilians were killed in a fight between Myanmar regime forces and the rebel Arakan Army (AA) in Rakhine state, according to The Irrawaddy. On Monday night, AA troops attacked a truck carrying wounded junta soldiers in northern Maungdaw, killing a 50-year-old vehicle owner and a 20-year-old civilian driver.

"We heard gunshots for some 20 minutes around 11 pm….. The next morning, we were told by the police the female vehicle owner died in the shooting," a villager from Phet Wun Chaung told The Irrawaddy.

After two years of intensive warfare, the AA and the Myanmar military had followed an informal ceasefire since the November 2020 general election, but tensions have recently escalated on the ground, and renewed violence broke out in Maungdaw in November last year.

(With inputs from Agencies)

Image: AP