Anti-junta forces overrun, torch police station in Bago Region

Resistance and Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) fighters seized and set fire to a police station in Bago Region’s Phyu Township early Wednesday morning, a resistance spokesperson said. The allied forces’ attack on the station began at 4am in the village of Nyaung Pin Thar, five miles south of Phyu on the Yangon-Mandalay road, according to the spokesperson for Military Region No. 2—one of five regional commands operating under the defence ministry of the anti-junta, shadow National Unity Government (NUG). Members of the KNLA, which operates as the armed wing of the Karen National Union (KNU), the People’s Defence Forces (PDF) commanded by the NUG, and the Bamar People’s Liberation Army (BPLA) participated in the attack. The anti-junta forces were able to take full control within an hour. “We managed to kill several enemy soldiers and captured weapons,” said Tin Oo, the NUG spokesperson. “We will be releasing an official statement soon.” Weapons seized from the Nyaung Pin Thar police station (Royal Peacock Column) The military reportedly tried to fend off the attack using heavy artillery and airstrikes, injuring local civilians and resistance members, but Myanmar Now has not yet verified the casualties. BPLA officer Saung Kha claimed four BPLA fighters were injured in the operation but did not provide further details. The Nyaung Pin Thar village tract is located between the towns of Phyu and Ka Nyut Kwin, Bago Region and has a population of around 13,000 according to the 2014 consensus. Around 60 police and military personnel are stationed in Nyaung Pin Thar. The weapons and equipment captured in the attack included shotguns and other firearms, a computer, handcuffs, tear gas grenades, bulletproof vests, helmets, as well as bullets, rocket-propelled grenade launcher rounds and various other types of ammunition. Nyaung Pin Thar police station, seen after the attack (Royal Peacock Column) A resident of Taungoo who was near Phyu Township after the attack said artillery fire could still be heard nearby. “The battles are still intensifying and we can hear heavy weapons going off,” the Taungoo resident said on Tuesday afternoon. Anti-junta forces also attacked military targets in and near Mone village, Kyaukkyi Township in early December, overrunning and setting fire to several junta outposts and the Mone police station before withdrawing. According to a statement released by the NUG’s Military Region No. 2 command on December 8, more than 100 junta troops were killed in these assaults. Two captains and 21 soldiers of other ranks surrendered to the resistance forces and more than 50 soldiers’ relatives were also taken into custody, the statement said. The attacks on Mone were part of the NUG’s longer-term strategy to advance into the Sittaung River valley in eastern Bago Region. NUG-commanded PDF have also been targeting military positions in eastern Bago Region as part of a long-term offensive dubbed “Operation Salmon,” which is aimed at establishing control of the Bago Yoma hills. The PDF are operating throughout Bago Region, while the BPLA and ABSDF have remained active mostly in the eastern townships of the region, which overlap with or lie adjacent to KNU-controlled territories.

Anti-junta forces overrun, torch police station in Bago Region

Members of the PDF, KNLA, and BPLA took part in the attack, capturing a large cache of junta weapons, ammunition, and equipment

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