Fierce battle rages as Myanmar resistance forces advance on strategic northern Sagaing town

Anti-junta forces say they are continuing their push for control of the northern Sagaing Region town of Indaw following days of fierce clashes that saw the fall of at least two regime bases over the weekend. Fighting in the area began last Thursday and has shown no signs of abating, according to a frontline source who spoke to Myanmar Now on Monday. “The battle is still ongoing in the town, and some junta camps have been captured. However, the hill where Light Infantry Division 77 is stationed is still in their control,” the source said. Despite junta airstrikes that began on Friday, the resistance forces managed to capture two camps—one located in the village of Nant Thar, about seven miles northwest of Indaw, and another at the Na Bar junction, about four miles to the east. The Na Bar camp is considered to be the more strategically important of the two because it lies at the intersection of roads leading to the towns of Maw Luu and Katha. In December of last year, resistance forces captured Maw Luu, about 25 miles north of Indaw, but earlier this year the regime launched a major offensive to retake the town. At present, the anti-junta forces are concentrating their attacks on troops stationed at the education office and the Japanese-era hospital in Indaw, according to Myanmar Now’s source. The clashes over the weekend, which included at least 20 airstrikes carried out by six aircraft on Saturday, resulted in a number of civilian casualties, the source said. “There have been some civilian casualties, including a few deaths in the Na Bar area. Some people were also injured in Indaw,” he said, adding that more than 20,000 locals from Indaw and the surrounding area have been displaced by the fighting. The groups fighting for control of Indaw include local resistance teams, the All Burma Students' Democratic Front (ABSDF), and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA). Indaw is located on the Shwebo-Myitkyina road, near Sagaing Region’s border with Kachin State. It is considered an important point of entry into Kachin State, where the KIA has been engaged in a major offensive since March. In June, Kachin resistance forces launched an attack on the junta base in Nant Thar. In response, the regime carried out an airstrike that killed at least 17 civilians, including one child. Meanwhile, fighting was also reported in Pinlebu, a town located about 100 miles west of Indaw, over the weekend. However, no details were available at the time of reporting. Farther south, resistance forces reportedly captured the town of Depayin on Sunday morning, but were forced to retreat later in the day due to a junta counter-offensive that has forced thousands of locals to flee.

Fierce battle rages as Myanmar resistance forces advance on strategic northern Sagaing town

Anti-junta groups fighting for control of Indaw say they captured two nearby junta bases over the weekend

Subscribe for full access

Beyond Beijing’s reach, a new resistance alliance takes shape in Myanmar

Between resistance and the ballot box: Assessing the second phase of Myanmar’s junta-controlled elections

‘Our souls are in Myanmar’: Voices from a refugee camp

Under fire and deep in debt: The reality facing Myanmar’s farmers

Beyond Beijing’s reach, a new resistance alliance takes shape in Myanmar

Kokang army releases more than 80 junta soldiers captured in Lashio

Resistance arrests deputy leader of pro-junta militia in Mandalay Region

Myanmar junta charges detained Yangon food courier with terrorist financing, sedition

Land prices soar in western Karenni as war displaces thousands

KIA set to fully resume rare earth mining in captured ‘special region’

Myanmar junta airstrikes kill three civilians sheltering in Rakhine State monastery

Myanmar’s factories cling to life as power shortages persist

Bought Out or Seized: Mandalay farmers face impossible choices amid land grab

Myanmar junta partners with Chinese firm to build natural gas terminal despite Rakhine State conflict

Thai officials call on Myanmar regime to crack down on fraud, trafficking gangs on Thai-Karen State border

Myanmar military continues to lose ground to anti-junta forces in northern Shan State

Despite escalating violence, Myanmar junta leader says elections will proceed

NUG-founded bank set to sell shares to meet ‘emergency needs’

Myanmar’s junta bears ‘sole responsibility’ for Suu Kyi’s health—NLD

Karenni youth fight for freedom at the cost of their lives and limbs

The mothers of the Magway resistance

A Myanmar artist finds freedom behind bars—by portraying prisoners’ oppression

As Myanmar’s revolution beckons, a new breed of activist photographers heeds the call

The man behind the Myanmar junta’s campaign of terror in Sagaing

Authorities tighten restrictions on passport process for Myanmar nationals in Thailand

Subscribe for full access

Related Articles