Armed resistance takes control of Banmauk, Sagaing Region

Resistance forces took full control of the mining town of Banmauk, Sagaing Region last Saturday, according to a statement issued by Military Region 1 command under the defence ministry of the publicly mandated National Unity Government (NUG). NUG-commanded forces initiated assaults on the town, located near the border between Sagaing Region and Kachin State, on September 15, capturing half a dozen junta outposts on the east side of Banmauk in two days before seizing the rest of the town. All regime forces occupying the town, mostly members of the ethnic armed group Shanni Nationalities Army (SNA), had withdrawn to rural areas west of the town by Saturday morning, leaving the urban wards in resistance hands. “We can confirm that the town was captured on the evening of September 20,” a source on the battlefield said on Sunday. “This was initially withheld due to the threat of junta airstrikes, but the news has now spread on social media. Some junta and SNA units are still positioned in the western, wooded areas of the township, so caution is still required.” Resistance sources reported they were still in the process of securing the town. “After taking control of the town, the resistance forces are primarily focused on maintaining its security,” a male resistance member said on Monday. “Clearance operations have been underway since yesterday, and bodies have been recovered. We incurred some casualties and did not pursue the retreating SNA troops,” the resistance member added. The regime air force launched three airstrikes late on Saturday night after the resistance’s takeover of the town. More than 2,000 civilian residents still staying in the town were able to seek shelter away from the town by the next day. “We directed the displaced residents in the town to move to safety due to the ongoing threat of airstrikes by the junta,” an officer of the Banmauk Township People’s Defence Team (PDT) said after assisting in the town’s evacuation. “Currently, the People’s Defence Forces [PDF] are conducting clearance operations in the town, while the township PDT has set up a committee to safeguard civilians’ homes and ensure law and order,” he added. According to local sources, fleeing civilians reportedly sought refuge both in territories under resistance control and in areas still occupied by the SNA forces. “Since the battle began on the east side of town, residents panicked and fled westward,” a Banmauk resident said. “Some feared being targeted by junta airstrikes if they went to resistance-controlled areas, so they went to SNA-controlled areas instead.” “Non-CDM residents fled west,” he added, referring to civilians unassociated with the anti-junta Civil Disobedience Movement. In addition to conducting at least ten airstrikes during the battle for Banmauk, local sources said the junta and its allies carried out drone and artillery attacks. Exploding artillery shells injured a local man and woman on September 15 and killed another two days later. Weapons and ammunition seized by NUG-commanded resistance forces (Photo: Military Region 1) According to the NUG Military Region 1 statement, in addition to seizing several villages and wards with security outposts, hill bases, police stations, monasteries, and schools, the resistance intercepted a military vehicle carrying reinforcements from the neighbouring village of Kyaung Lel. Materiel seized by the ammunition included rifles and submachine guns, thousands of rounds of rifle and carbine ammunition, mortar shells, drone shells, rocket-propelled grenades, tear gas canisters, anti-personnel and anti-tank landmines, the statement said. The resistance forces also said they recovered seven deceased armed personnel of the junta and allied forces, including a junior commander of the SNA, and that six resistance fighters had been killed in the battle, with more sustaining injuries. The retreating SNA and junta forces have regrouped in villages north and west of the town, they added. The Myanmar military has been coordinating with the SNA since losing control of the town of Indaw, some 20 miles southeast of Banmauk, to resistance forces in April. They set up security outposts around the town to which they repeatedly deployed reinforcements in apparent preparation for battle, according to resistance sources in the area. According to the same sources, the SNA was primarily responsible for the security of Banmauk—a production hub for gold and timber—but soldiers of the junta’s Light Infantry Battalion 77 were also stationed there. Banmauk Township had a population of more than 100,000 as of the 2014 census, but only around 5,000 lived in the town proper. It is less than 20 miles from Sagaing Region’s border with Kachin State. According to Captain Zin Yaw, a former army officer who defected from the military, control of Banmauk will help the resistance block enemy forces’ access to Kachin State, also a hotbed of activity by anti-junta armed groups including the Kachin Independence Army, a longtime enemy of the SNA. Capt. Zin Yaw also noted Banmauk was one of the areas the military regime considered sufficiently stable to hold planned elections at the end of this year and predicted that the military would launch counterattacks to retake the town imminently. Of the four townships in Sagaing Region’s Katha District, the junta has now managed to maintain full control only in Katha. NUG-commanded forces have held control of the large village of Maw Luu, Indaw Township as well as the town of Pinlebu in the neighbouring Kawlin District.

Armed resistance takes control of Banmauk, Sagaing Region

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