An unknown number of junta troops was killed in Sagaing Region’s Pale Township earlier this week in a pair of attacks carried out by resistance forces active in the area.
The attacks targeted a column of 150 soldiers that arrived in Pale from neighbouring Yinmabin Township last Friday, according to the information officer of the Myanmar Royal Dragon Army (MRDA), the group responsible for both ambushes.
The first incident occurred on Sunday near Nwe Shauk, a village located about 5km southwest of the town of Pale, he said. The MRDA fired on the column twice with 60mm artillery shells, triggering a clash between the two sides.
After spending the night in Nwe Shauk, the column came under attack again the following morning on the road to the nearby village of Hlaw Kar.
“We waited the entire night to attack them,” said the MRDA information officer.
He said that two junta soldiers were hit in the initial attack, and another 10 were injured the next day. He added that he believed several later died of their injuries.
“We saw where they tried to treat their injured soldiers. There were a lot of medical supplies and blood spots scattered all over the place,” he said, describing the scene after the second attack.
Later the same day, the column continued west to In Ma Htee, a village controlled by the military-backed Pyu Saw Htee militia.
“We saw them cremating dead bodies in the southeastern part of the village,” said the information officer, adding that the exact number of casualties could not be determined.
No one in the MRDA was injured, he added.
Myanmar Now was unable to independently verify the information officer’s account, and no statement has been released by the regime about the two attacks.
