After heavy losses, Myanmar junta forces go on the offensive in eastern Bago Region

Intense clashes near Penwegon, a town located on the old Yangon-Mandalay road in eastern Bago Region’s Kyauktaga Township, have resulted in casualties among both resistance and regime forces, according to sources. Fighting broke out at around 2am on Monday, when junta troops attacked a camp jointly operated by the Karen National Union (KNU) and the People’s Defence Force (PDF) in Ma Au Pin, a village about four miles north of Penwegon. Pro-junta social media accounts reported that six PDF members and one regime soldier were killed during the operation. Another soldier was injured and seven firearms were seized along with ammunition, the reports claimed. Ma Au Pin is located about three miles east of the town of Taw Kywe Inn, where resistance forces mounted attacks on junta targets last week as part of an offensive dubbed Operation Aung Myin, aimed at disrupting the junta’s elections. The fighting reportedly resulted in the death of dozens of junta troops. Operation Aung Myin also involved coordinated attacks in neighbouring Phyu Township, where voting was cancelled in dozens of villages due to the fighting. Since then, the military has advanced along the old Yangon-Mandalay road more aggressively, according to a resistance fighter based in the area. “The junta troops suffered heavy losses, including a major, in Kyauktaga and Phyu. In response, they are pushing forward with more force, triggering intense clashes,” the fighter said. According to a statement released by the Ministry of Defence of the National Unity Government (NUG) last week, the major was killed during an ambush on a junta column near Kyein Khar Khone, a village less than three miles northwest of Penwegon. The ministry has yet to release a statement about the clashes on Monday. NUG-led resistance forces frequently carry out attacks on regime targets along the old Yangon–Mandalay Highway, including in the towns of Kyauktaga, Penwegon, Kanyutkwin, Phyu, Zayyawadi, and Oktwin. Several villages east of Penwegon, including Kyein Khar Kone, Thin Hnee Gaung, Tha Yet Oke, In Kone, and Say Yoe Khin, saw intense fighting late last week. Firearms seized from resistance forces in Ma Au Pin, near Penwegon in Bago Region’s Kyauktaga Township, on January 19 (Photo: Pro-regime social media accounts) On Sunday, clashes broke out near Nyaung Lwint, a village about 16 miles south of the town of Oktwin, prompting the junta army to fire artillery and close roads, a local man told Myanmar Now. “The fighting will continue until the election is over. With villagers fleeing, I don’t know who will be able to vote,” the man said, noting that many of the displaced villagers had fled to the town of Taungoo. Ahead of the first phase of voting on December 28, resistance forces destroyed a polling station in Swar Ma Gyi, a village in Bago’s Yedashe Township. Yedashe is about 80 miles north of Kyauktaga, and 50 miles south of the regime’s capital, Naypyitaw. PDF forces launched attacks in multiple townships in Bago Region during the second phase of the election, held on January 11, including one that left a deputy director of the Taungoo District administration office dead and several others wounded. Phase 3 of the election, set for January 25, includes the townships of Kyaukkyi, Kyauktaga, Phyu, Oktwin, Thegon, Waw, Gyobingauk, and Okpho in Bago Region. Operation Aung Myin was launched by the Bago Region Military Command, under the NUG’s Ministry of Defence, on January 9. Its stated targets are 14 permanent junta bases located between Phyu and Kyauktaga townships. A junta airstrike carried out in response to the attacks damaged the main rail link between Yangon and Mandalay, leading to a two-day halt in rail services between Myanmar’s two largest cities. The old Yangon-Mandalay road runs roughly parallel to the Sittaung River, a few miles to the east. The PDF controls most of the area between the road and the river, while the KNU’s Brigade 3 holds most of the river’s eastern bank. Resistance offensives have also been carried out in western Bago Region, including in Nattalin, Zigon, and Minhla townships, where a series of coordinated attacks was launched on January 7.

After heavy losses, Myanmar junta forces go on the offensive in eastern Bago Region

The regime is advancing aggressively along the old Yangon-Mandalay road a week after facing a series of devastating attacks

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