Fighting in Sagaing Region’s Kanbalu Township between junta troops and People’s Defence Force (PDF) fighters lasted most of the day Monday, resulting in casualties on both sides and the seizure of weapons from the junta, PDF sources said.
Two Kanbalu District PDF battalions attacked junta soldiers from Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 361 at several temporary bases, including one at the Thapanseik hydroelectric power substation about a mile and a half east of Hnget Pyaw Taing village on the Mandalay-Myitkyina road.
During the battle, which lasted from 4am to 2pm, the junta carried out two airstrikes in support of their ground troops, but PDF fighters were able to capture two of the junta’s bases, according to the PDF.
While the PDF attempted to raid a third junta base, located southeast of the village, they were held back by another round of aerial bombardment from the junta. About 100 soldiers from another junta regiment also arrived at the camp shortly afterwards as reinforcements, forcing the two PDF battalions to withdraw.
“We were able to seize two camps in the morning. Although we intended to raid the last one too, we couldn’t do it. The first aircraft fired on us for an hour while hovering over the area,” said a spokesperson for the PDF’s Kanbalu District Battalion 4, which took part in the battle.
He added that there were dozens of fatalities and injuries on the junta side, and that the PDF acquired three MA rifles, seven carbines, a machine gun, and a sniper rifle.
On the resistance side, two fighters from the two PDF district battalions died in battle.
Junta soldiers most commonly carry MA series rifles, machine guns, and sniper rifles produced by the Myanmar Directorate of Defence Industries. Other weapons seized during the fighting included Second World War-era carbines most commonly used by junta-trained, pro-military Pyu Saw Htee militia members.
The PDF fighters therefore inferred that there were Pyu Saw Htee militia members as well as soldiers manning the junta bases. According to the PDF spokesperson, while they initially expected to encounter about around 60 personnel, they in fact found more than a hundred armed men were present at the bases.
“When we initially attacked, about fourteen or fifteen of them began to run away. Although it appeared that there were not many soldiers deployed at first, we discovered as we engaged them that they numbered around 130,” the spokesperson said.
The military council does not consistently release casualty figures following battles. Myanmar Now has yet to independently verify the numbers killed and injured on the junta side in the fighting.
The battle in Hnget Pyaw Taing village, which lasted more than ten hours, stands as the longest battle to have occurred in Sagaing’s central townships.
Analysts believe that the ammunition used by the resistance fighters probably originates in Kachin State.
Power outages in villages after the junta troops’ arrival
Aiming to establish control along the road connecting Mandalay and Myitkyina, the junta planned to set up base camps in Kanbalu Township’s Hnget Pyaw Taing and Yae Kyi U villages as well as in Ah Lel Sho and other points along the road in Khin-U Township, according to PDF battalions and local resistance forces.
By establishing a foothold in these areas, the junta army would be able to extend its control from the junta’s military training camp in Shwebo to the area alongside the Myitkyina Road, securing control of the road for military use.
(Photo: Kyunhla Activists Group)
Before the day-long battle near Hnget Pyaw Taing, junta troops who had been stationed in the village since October 3 set up camp at the Thapanseik hydroelectric power substation that supplies electricity to the entire township.
After the junta troops stationed there on October 5, electricity was cut off in the villages of Htan Kone, Zee Kone and Kar Boe in southern Kanbalu Township, as well as in the neighbouring Taze Township.
Resistance groups have blamed the junta for the outages, but some local residents suggested they may have resulted from the local resistance groups’ attacks on the junta at the substation. The People’s Defense Team (PDT), locally known as Pa Ka Pha, had been using homemade artillery and drones to attack junta forces even before they reached the substation.
Residents have said that they are facing difficulties in preparing food and accessing drinking water in Kanbalu Township during the prolonged power outage. A resident of Taze said that the town’s inhabitants are now relying on solar energy to charge their phones and travelling to places with artesian wells to get water.
“Electricity hasn’t been available even for a second, both during the day and at night. Without electricity we are unable to cook, and it’s dark at night,” he said.
A resident of Zee Kone said that electricity service workers had warned that power outages could persist for months due to the fighting near the substation.
“The electricians also said they were reluctant to go there and make repairs due to the risk. So we’re resorting to cooking with wood and charcoal. For bathing, we have to go places with water access. Otherwise, we would have to rent generators to pump water, which costs 20,000 kyat (US $10) an hour,” he said.
LIB 361 has advanced north into the centre of Kanbalu Township, but has left a detachment of their soldiers and allied militia members in Hnget Pyaw Taing to continue carrying out operations in the area.
Two men from Inn Lel Gyi were captured by the army last Friday and released, only to be recaptured, tortured and killed later on by Pyu Saw Htee militia members.
Civilian residents of Hnget Pyaw Taing, Inn Lel Gyi, and other nearby villages in southern Kanbalu Township have fled their homes due to the presence of military personnel and the recent clashes, and are in need of food and shelter.
