Five members of a local defence force were killed and one seriously injured during a Myanmar army raid on a village in southern Kawlin Township this week, according to local sources.
Junta soldiers torched six homes and engaged in a battle with the defence force in an early morning attack on the community of Hpa Le on Tuesday, a man from a neighbouring village told Myanmar Now.
“Because it was so early in the morning, the defence forces did not have enough time to prepare,” the man said, adding that the PDF members killed had been acting as village guards.
In addition to the destroyed homes, four cars were also set on fire, he said. The fighting reportedly ended at around 2pm.
A man in neighbouring Htigyaing Township who has relatives in Hpa Le said that residents of the village were displaced by the clash, and at the time of reporting, had not returned.
A spokesperson for the Kawlin-based defence force told Myanmar Now that battles in the township have been breaking out more frequently, as the military has been attempting to crush the resistance strongholds in Htigyaing, Katha and Kawlin.
In parts of Sagaing Region, the resistance groups have reportedly been collaborating with the Kachin Independence Army in their fight against the military.
Myanmar Now tried to contact the junta’s information department for comment on the attack on Hpa Le but all calls went unanswered.
