Junta drone strike kills six resistance fighters in Myanmar’s Bago Region

Fighting has intensified in western Myanmar’s Bago Region after a junta drone strike hit a People’s Defence Force (PDF) camp in Nattalin Township, killing six resistance fighters, according to local sources. According to PDF Battalion 3801 deputy commander Nyi Nyi, a junta drone strike hit the unit’s security outpost in Ngoke To village in eastern Nattalin Township on the morning of February 6, killing six resistance fighters instantly. “Ngoke To village lies along the road to the old police station and Taung Nyo Kwet Thit camp,” a resistance source said.“At the road’s end, the PDF had set up a permanent security outpost as a lookout. A single drone-delivered bomb struck the camp, killing all six.” The identities of the six fighters killed have not been confirmed. Ko Aung, a company commander of the Nattalin Township People’s Defence said that currently there are around 300 junta troops moving into the eastern part of the township in two separate columns. He added that on the morning of February 9, fighting broke out near the village.Roughly 200 junta troops advanced through Damange village east of Nattalin town, while a second column of more than 100 moved through Ngoke To village nearby. On February 7, junta artillery from Paungde Township struck Kan Thar Yar village, injuring at least 10 civilians and killing a resistance fighter. PDF Deputy Commander Nyi Nyi told Myanmar Now that the push is part of a broader junta offensive launched in early February to retake resistance-held positions in eastern Nattalin Township.“Their soldiers are suffering losses as well,” he said. “After clashes with resistance forces on the 6th and 7th, several of their troops were killed. They are pushing forward desperately to regain their permanent positions, and the fighting has continued relentlessly.” A PDF fighter in western Bago reported that at least 10 junta troops were killed during clashes in Nattalin Township, with the actual number possibly higher. A male resident of Nattalin Township said that on February 5, the junta bombed Si Son Kone and Kyauk Kone Lay villages using paramotors and Y12 aircraft, damaging homes and farmland. The junta has not issued any statements regarding its military activities in western Bago Region. Since late last year, escalating military activity in Nattalin Township has displaced thousands of residents, forcing civilians to seek shelter in remote areas, including the hills along the Bago Yoma (Pegu Range). Since December 2025, the junta has deployed military columns to advance in western Bago Region in an effort to block resistance forces based there—particularly in Nattalin, Paungde, and Paukkhaung—from approaching towns during the elections. Clashes since then have driven a sustained escalation, with fighting continuing into February. In western Bago Region, National Unity Government (NUG) forces, urban guerrilla units and local militias are active, while eastern Bago has seen operations by both Karen National Union (KNU) forces and allied NUG units.

Junta drone strike kills six resistance fighters in Myanmar’s Bago Region

Intensified fighting in Nattalin Township follows a drone attack on a PDF outpost, as junta forces push into resistance-held territory

Subscribe for full access

Clashes for border checkpoints intensify in Myanmar’s southernmost region

The shadowy past—and present—of the Myanmar Times and Frontier

On the road to Namtu

‘Can We Go Home?’: Civilians trapped in Bhamo fighting

Subscribe for full access

Related Articles

Myanmar military to tighten digital surveillance via mandatory phone IMEI registration

Junta airstrikes kill at least seven civilians in Sagaing’s Pale Township

China-invested copper mine in Myanmar set to resume after election-period shutdown

Myanmar students face growing hurdles getting South Korea visas