Hundreds of troops from three military columns have launched recent assaults on villages in the Yaw region of Magway’s Gangaw District in what resistance forces have said is an attempt to regain control over their stronghold.
Already present in Gangaw since late May was a junta unit of 100 soldiers airlifted into the area by helicopter, with a 100-vehicle convoy from Monywa and a 150-troop column from Kalay—both in neighbouring Sagaing Region—moving into the district.
The Yaw Defence Force (YDF) attacked the convoy from Monywa on June 2, the third day into their journey. The ambush, carried out using improvised explosive devices, occurred just outside the town of Kyaw in Gangaw Township, according to a YDF spokesperson.
“Around 30 of them were killed and one of them was a high-ranking army officer. They carried his body away on a helicopter,” the YDF information officer said.
Myanmar Now was unable to independently verify the spokesperson’s reports of casualties.
The convoy in question proceeded to torch more than 100 homes in the villages of Sin Sel, Yae Poke, Khon Ton and Nyaung Lel, according to the YDF, with five villagers killed in the raid on Nyaung Lel.
On Monday, monitoring group Data For Myanmar released a statement disclosing that a total of 18,886 houses in more than 430 locations nationwide had been destroyed by the military and its allies since the February 2021 coup. The junta has repeatedly denied responsibility for the arson.
The YDF spokesperson expressed frustration at being outgunned by the junta’s forces, and told Myanmar Now that the resistance group was hoping to be provided with arms by the civilian National Unity Government (NUG) which they serve.
“We are lacking a lot when it comes to weapons. Without enough weapons, we will always be on the defence,” he explained, adding, “We are still waiting for the NUG to provide us with arms.”
Another resistance group, the Southern Yaw Gangaw People’s Defence Force (PDF), ambushed the 150-soldier column travelling to Gangaw from Kalay using explosives earlier this month. A member of the force said that they carried out the attack near Nat Chaung village, and that the junta troops proceeded to torch some 50 homes in the community.
The military unit proceeded to the village of Hnan Khar, arriving on Tuesday morning, ultimately stationing themselves in the neighbouring village of Southern Khayan, more than 30 miles from Gangaw.
“They torched Nat Chaung in order to get to Hnan Khar from Kalay. Then the column spent the night inside the military base in Southern Khayan village and launched on-ground assaults from Southern Khayan,” the PDF member said. “Almost the entire village of Nat Chaung has been destroyed,” he added.
The guerrilla fighter speculated that the column from Kalay and the convoy from Monywa were likely to meet in Gangaw and intensify their “clearance” of the area, and that resistance forces were insufficiently armed to respond to the forthcoming assault.
“We would like the NUG to provide us with weapons, but we can’t expect much as they’re also having difficulties themselves,” he said.
The third column, expected to join the troops from Monywa and Kalay, has been occupying the area around the Myittha Dam in Gangaw. There, a junta helicopter attacked the area from the air on May 26, reportedly killing four Gangaw PDF members and making way for the 100 Myanmar army soldiers to set up their base at the site.
On Tuesday morning, the troops near Myittha reportedly conscripted locals as porters and guides, expanding into the village of Yaung Nat.
As the military closes in, a collective lack of weapons has caused concern among the multiple anti-junta defence forces operating in the area, an information officer for the Northern Yaw Gangaw PDF explained.
“There are so many resistance groups in the Yaw region but the major problem is the lack of sufficient firepower,” the PDF spokesperson said. “For a long time, we have tried to survive just with our revolutionary spirit and no weapons. But now that the military is launching airstrikes and ambushing our fleeing members with rifles when all we have are handmade muskets, it’s beginning to break our hearts, to be honest.”
“Even if I have to die, I want to die fighting a fair fight with equal weapons. It just hurts us a lot to see our comrades dying just because they didn’t have enough weapons,” he added.
