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TNLA, MNDAA Claim to Have Killed Dozens of Myanmar Junta Troops in Shan State
The Myanmar military reportedly suffered heavy casualties during fierce clashes with members of the Northern Alliance in multiple locations in northern Shan State on Tuesday and Wednesday.
A combined force of Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) fighters launched attacks on the Myanmar military’s 99th Light Infantry Division and Infantry Battalion 45 in Kutkai Township on Tuesday. The attack came after fierce fighting between the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and regime troops in the township’s Manlon Village.
The TNLA and MNDAA announced that they jointly launched attacks on the Myanmar military to help their Alliance partner the KIA, as well as to defend themselves, as the junta has been reinforcing its troops in their areas of activity. The Northern Alliance groups the TNLA, MNDAA, KIA and the Arakan Army (AA).
Fighting between the KIA and regime troops in northern Shan and Kachin states has intensified since the junta killed two anti-coup protesters in Myitkyina in March. Soon after the coup, the KIA refused to recognize the junta and warned it not to harm anti-coup protesters in Kachin State.
The KIA seized a strategic base in Montauk Township and stormed more than a dozen military and police outposts in Kachin’s Waimaw, Momauk, Hpakant, Tanai, Mogaung, Shwegu and Injangyang townships. It has also threatened to step up its attacks if the junta continues to shoot peaceful protesters across the country.
According to a local resident, more than two dozen Myanmar military (or Tatmadaw) troops were killed and many weapons were seized by the TNLA and MNDAA during the clashes in Kutkai.
The TNLA and MNDAA said many Tatmadaw soldiers were killed during the clashes, while claiming they didn’t suffer any casualties.
They said the combined force seized weapons from regime troops after intense fighting lasting for two hours on Wednesday in Manpan Village, Kutkai Township.
Myanmar’s Office of the Commander-in-Chief of Defense Services had not made any announcement relating to clashes in northern Shan State as of Thursday afternoon.
In late March, the TNLA, MNDAA and AA condemned the military junta and warned they would join forces with all ethnic people in fighting against the regime if its brutal killing of anti-coup protesters continued.
The TNLA, MNDAA and AA warned the military that they would collaborate with other ethnic armed organizations and democracy supporters to defend themselves from the regime’s brutal crackdowns if the violence continued.
Prior to the coup, alliance members had been negotiating individual bilateral agreements between each member and the military to cease fighting, and declared a unilateral ceasefire in support of the negotiations. After the military coup, they extended their unilateral ceasefire until March 31.
After issuing their joint warning statement to military, the groups have not responded
to the military’s latest announcement of an extension of its unilateral ceasefire until the end of May.
Fighting also intensified on Thursday morning between the KIA and regime troops in Myothit Village in Kachin State’s Momauk Township, according to local residents.
The Irrawaddy
• The Irrawaddy 6 May 2021:
https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/tnla-mndaa-claim-killed-dozens-myanmar-junta-troops-shan-state.html
Nearly 200 Myanmar Troops Killed in Clashes With Karen Forces
Nearly 200 Myanmar military troops, including a colonel and a lieutenant colonel, were killed in clashes between the regime’s troops and the military wing of the Karen National Union (KNU) in Karen State.
Military tension has risen in Hpapun area, Shwe Kyin and Thaton Districts, in Karen and Bago regions after the military wing of the KNU, Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) Brigade 5 seized an outpost near the Salween River in Thi Mu Hta held by the military’s Light Infantry Division 349 on March 27.
KNU Brigade 5 also overran a military border post on the banks of the Salween River in Thaw Le Hta, near the border with Thailand’s Mae Hong Song Province on April 27.
From March 27 to early May, 194 soldiers were killed and another 220 soldiers from Myanmar military were wounded in clashes. Nine soldiers from the KNLA were killed and 10 were injured, a spokesperson for the KNU’s 5th Brigade, Lieutenant Colonel Saw Kler Doh, told local news outlet Karen Information Center.
During one month, the military launched 27 airstrikes into the KNU Brigade 5 area, fired 47 artillery shells, and there were 407 clashes between the two sides, said Lt. Col. Saw Kler Doh.
Moreover, Brigade 5 recorded that the military fired 575 artillery shells into local villages and farmland. The air raid killed 14 civilians, wounded 28 people and destroyed 20 houses and two schools.
Currently, the military has been reinforcing its troops in these areas, according to KNU.
Last month, Lt. Col, Saw Kler Doh told The Irrawaddy that the KNLA’s attacks are to show support for civilians and the newly-formed National Unity Government set up by elected lawmakers from the ousted National League for Democracy (NLD) government.
Recently, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimated that about 40,000 people have fled their homes in Papun District in Karen State and Shwe Kyin, Kyaukkyi and Nyaunglebin Townships in Bago Region, following the coup and military airstrikes in the areas. An estimated 1,000 refugees – mostly the elderly, the sick, women and children – have taken refuge in Thailand.
The Irrawaddy
• The Irrawaddy 6 May 2021:
https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/nearly-200-myanmar-troops-killed-in-clashes-with-karen-forces.html
Chin Resistance Fighters Kill Nine Myanmar Junta Soldiers
Nine junta troops have died between Sunday and Tuesday in Hakha, the capital of Chin State, as civilian resistance fighters stepped up attacks.
Four junta troops at a military checkpoint in Hakha near the Light Infantry Battalion 645 headquarters died in an attack on Sunday evening. And four more died in attacks on a junta outpost at an intersection on Monday, said the Chinland Defence Force in Hakha.
Another soldier died in an attack near the military-owned Innwa Bank in the town on Tuesday night. The attacks by civilians are mostly “hit-and-run” operations, said the armed group.
“It happened at around 8.30 pm during an electricity blackout. I heard 15 to 20 shots. A soldier died,” said a Hakha resident.
The Chinland Defence Force said it attacked the outpost near Innwa Bank because it was near a key junction. The military did not block the road on Wednesday morning after the attack.
The regime has not reported the attacks in Hakha in the newspapers it controls.
The Irrawaddy
• The Irrawaddy 5 May 2021:
https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/myanmars-shadow-government-forms-peoples-defense-force.html
Myanmar Military-Appointed Administrators Killed By Anonymous Attackers
Three administrators appointed by the military regime have been killed in Yangon, Mandalay and Sagaing regions in targeted attacks.
Regime-appointed ward administrators and police informants have been attacked. The regime has said “rioters”, a military euphemism for protesters, were behind the attacks. However, no one has claimed responsibilities for the attacks and The Irrawaddy cannot independently verify the regime’s claim.
Since the Feb. 1 coup, ward administration offices, which are key to the junta’s ability to govern the country, have suffered arson or bomb attacks in protest at new appointments by the regime.
Newly appointed ward administrators and police informants are increasingly being targeted for collaborating with the junta in arresting anti-regime protesters, striking government staff and other civilians opposing military rule.
On Thursday afternoon, a newly appointed ward administrator was reportedly stabbed to death by unknown men in Chanmyathazi Township, Mandalay Region, according to a resident.
On Tuesday evening, a Kyeekan village tract administrator in Khin-U Township, Sagaing Region, was stabbed to death when he was outside the village, according to a military-run newspaper.
Motorcyclists also opened fire on the house of Witoke village administrator U Than Myint in Tamu Township, Sagaing Region, on Monday night.
U Than Myint and his wife were injured and his daughter and grandson were killed, according to residents.
Last week the security forces searched the village with a list of homes supposedly holding traditional firearms. Villagers were urged to hand weapons to the village authorities.
During the raids, two villagers were beaten and detained by troops, a resident told The Irrawaddy.
Communities across Sagaing Region are resisting the military with homemade firearms and slingshots.
On Tuesday a ward administrator in Thaketa Township, Yangon, was reportedly stabbed to death at his office by three men saying they wanted to report overnight visitors.
Police stations and government and education offices have been attacked with firebombs and homemade bombs since March 14 when the regime killed more than 110 civilians in crackdowns on anti-regime protesters.
Junta troops continue to conduct crackdowns, raids and detentions and several civilians are killed each day.
By Wednesday, nearly 770 people have been killed by the security forces, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.
More than 3,600 people, including elected leaders, National League for Democracy members, election commissioners, doctors, journalists, protesters, writers and artists, have been detained.
The Irrawaddy
• The Irrawaddy 6 May 2021:
https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/myanmars-shadow-government-forms-peoples-defense-force.html
Anti-Regime Civilian Fighters Attack Myanmar Junta Forces in Magwe Region
Local resistance fighters and junta forces have been clashing in Tilin Township, Magwe Region since Monday with both sides suffering casualties, according to local sources.
“There is a shootout going on near Htanbingon village, where there was fighting yesterday, too. Two civilians died yesterday and we are sure at least one junta soldier also died yesterday,” a resident told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday morning.
Fighting erupted on Monday morning near the village of Wetthet on the Tilin-Gangaw road, as junta security forces carried out raids after an explosion near the township education office in Tilin.
Local resistance fighters attacked junta troops returning to Tilin near Htanbingon village around 7.45am. The fighting escalated as junta reinforcements heading to Tilin from Gangaw were attacked near the village around 9.30am.
Four junta troops and three resistance fighters died in the fighting, according to local sources. The Irrawaddy was unable to independently verify the reports.
The military regime said three civilians died in the fighting and a Htanbingon villager was arrested while carrying a traditional firearm. Three junta troops were injured and a vehicle was damaged, said the regime.
Junta forces also claimed to have seized six motorbikes and two traditional firearms during the fighting.
Htanbingon village is some three miles north of Tilin. Elderly people from the village are currently sheltering at the village monastery, said a resident.
There was also a clash at a police outpost in Say Min Taw village some 18 miles from Tilin, he said. It is unknown if there were casualties.
The Irrawaddy
• The Irrawaddy 4 May 2021:
https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/anti-regime-civilian-fighters-attack-myanmar-junta-forces-magwe-region.html
Myanmar’s Shadow Government Forms People’s Defense Force
Some would-be members of the PDF undergo military training somewhere on the border.
Myanmar’s shadow government formed the People’s Defense Force on Wednesday in an effort to end the junta’s violence against the people of Myanmar.
The National Unity Government (NUG) said in its statement that it has a responsibility to end the military regime’s violence and 70 years of civil war.
The NUG was formed by legally-elected lawmakers to rival the military junta after the Feb. 1 coup.
The NUG also said it has a responsibility to transform the security sector and to establish the Federal Union Army.
It has formed the People’s Defense Force (PDF) as the precursor of Federal Union Army, the NUG said in its statement on Wednesday.
Detailed information about the formation of the People’s Defense Force will be announced later, deputy defense minister Daw Khin Ma Ma Myo of the NUG told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday.
She said the main task of the PDF is to protect the lives and property of people and the Federal Union.
“This is the state force of the NUG to subdue the junta forces [currently] committing war crimes and crimes on people,” she said.
People in Yangon show their support for Federal Army, the would-be descendant of the People’s Defense Force in early April.
Following the February coup, the military regime has been using lethal weapons including live ammunition, automatic weapons, hand grenades and heavy explosives to attack peaceful anti-regime protesters, labeling them as “rioters.” The military’s deadly crackdown came after the regime faced huge daily protests nationwide.
As of Tuesday, more than 760 people have been slain by the junta forces during their crackdowns, arrests, interrogation, raids and random shootings, according to Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP).
During their crackdowns and raids, the junta police and soldiers have committed crimes, destroying civilians’ belongings including vehicles, motorbikes and houses. They have stolen motorbikes, phones, money, foods, chickens and pigs.
Faced with the deadly violence on the part of junta forces, people across the country have formed defense units on a self-help basis and have been conducting defensive actions against the military troops trying to conduct crackdowns or raids.
In several townships of Sagaing, Magawe Regions and Chin State, people are resisting the junta troops by taking up the homemade percussion lock firearms and slingshots.
The NUG government said that it has already been in discussions with those community forces about the fight against the military regime.
The Irrawaddy
• The Irrawaddy 5 May 2021:
https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/myanmars-shadow-government-forms-peoples-defense-force.html
Kachin Independence Army Shoots Down Myanmar Military Helicopter
Smoke from the crashed gunship is seen on Monday.
The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) shot down a Myanmar military helicopter as it was conducting air strikes in Momauk, Kachin State at around 10 a.m. on Monday, KIA information officer Colonel Naw Bu confirmed to The Irrawaddy.
“It happened at around 10:20 a.m. today. The attack on the gunship scared away two fighter jets accompanying the helicopter,” he said.
A local resident confirmed the crash. “The aircraft crashed after being hit in its tail rotor. I saw smoke spewing from it. It landed near Konglaw Village. We have heard loud gunfire since morning along with continuous artillery fire. The situation is not good,” said the witness.
Military tensions have been running high between Myanmar’s military junta and the ethnic Kachin armed group in Momauk since April 11, with the former using aircraft to bomb KIA outposts.
At around 2 a.m. on April 29 the KIA launched an artillery attack on Bhamo Airport, which military choppers use to take off and land.
The fighting in Momauk surrounds Alaw Bum base on a hill on the Chinese border. The hill, located on the route to the KIA’s headquarters, is strategically important for gaining the military upper hand over areas between Bhamo and Myitkyina.
Myanmar’s military has been attempting to retake the hill since the KIA seized it from the former on March 25.
More than 5,000 people from 10 villages have been displaced by the fighting in Momauk.
The Irrawaddy
• The Irrawaddy 3 May 2021:
https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/kachin-independence-army-shoots-myanmar-military-helicopter.html
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