A column of army troops and allies set fires in Pu Zun Myaung village on Monday night during an ongoing offensive operation in eastern Nyaunglebin Township, Bago Region.
Since the week before, the junta troops had been battling with locally active anti-junta People’s Defence Forces (PDF) nearly every day. The column, which included police, pro-junta Pyu Saw Htee militia members, and members of the fire services department as well as soldiers, began torching houses after stationing in the village, said Wai Yan, a spokesperson for the Bago Region PDF.
“We received information that the junta column set fire to the houses in Pu Zun Myang village, which was ancillary to their offensive. The exact number of houses burned is still unknown,” Wai Yan said.
After fighting the PDF resistance forces for two days, the junta troops fell back on September 29. Fighting resumed in the area when they returned on October 1 with fresh reinforcements, according to Wai Yan.
During the fighting, junta forces sabotaged roads in the area, digging them up with excavators to render them impassable. On Monday, the Spring Warriors Column—a resistance group—reported that they had torched one of the junta’s excavators.
Battalion 3702 and the Royal Peacock Column—two other resistance forces active in the area—joined the Bago Region PDF in attacking the junta column as it approached Pu Zun Myaung Village, located about three miles east of Nyaunglebin. Many junta soldiers including an army officer were killed in these attacks, according to resistance sources.
Four resistance fighters were also reportedly injured. Myanmar Now has been unable to verify the number of casualties independently.
On September 30, the bodies of two Pu Zun Myaung residents were found following their capture by the junta forces the day before. Min Min, 41, and Oo Gyi, 44, were killed, while another resident captured by the junta named Phyo Wai Oo, 32, was able to escape, according to a statement from the Karen National Union (KNU).
Since the beginning of this year, fighting has broken out frequently throughout Bago Region. The PDF have been carrying out operations in the region’s Bago Yoma mountain range, and the KNU said they were supporting these operations in a recent public statement.
