Junta ships forced to retreat after ambush on Ayeyarwady River

Three regime naval vessels were forced to reverse course on Sunday after coming under attack on the Ayeyarwady River while travelling towards the southern Kachin State town of Bhamo, according to local resistance sources. The ships, which were accompanied by a column of around 100 junta ground troops, returned to the town of Shwegu after being ambushed at a narrow, fast-flowing section of the river, the sources said. They were part of a larger flotilla of 12 vessels that had reached Shwegu the day before after setting off from Mandalay on July 17, carrying weapons, ammunition, and reinforcements. That flotilla was one of two groups, totalling more than 20 vessels, that had made their way up the river separately. According to a People’s Defence Force official, the three ships and the ground troops were ambushed a short distance east of Shwegu. “They were advancing both by water and by land when a clash broke out at around 3:30pm yesterday near the village of Ngarbatwa,” the official told Myanmar Now on Monday. “The three military vessels provided fire support,” he added. Several regime casualties were reported and at least one of the vessels sustained serious damage, according to a source close to resistance forces active in the area. There was no further fighting after the ships withdrew, but the situation remains tense following the arrival of an additional 150 junta troops at Ngarbatwa, the source said. At a point between Shwegu and Bhamo, the Ayeyarwady narrows to a width of only around 450 feet, with rocky outcrops and fast currents, making this location ideal for ambushes on river vessels. Junta ships have also been repeatedly attacked in other areas. According to local resistance forces, some have been left behind in the towns of Tigyaing and Katha due to damage from attacks. On Saturday evening, the regime launched a series of airstrikes on villages located along the river between Katha and Shwegu, killing two men and injuring four others, according to locals. Junta airstrikes carried out soon after the flotilla left Mandalay on July 17 killed at least 22 people in Wetlet Township, about 60 miles north of Myanmar’s second-largest city. Many of the troops being transported up the river to resistance strongholds are believed to be recent recruits forcibly conscripted into military service. On Sunday, Aye Ne Win, the grandson of former dictator Ne Win, wrote on social media that a friend’s son had been killed in an attack by resistance forces while accompanying the flotilla. Aye Ne Win has been an outspoken supporter of the regime. Anti-junta forces led by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) have been fighting since December of last year to take control of Bhamo, a strategically important town that is key to the regime’s efforts to retake lost territory in Kachin State. Junta forces trapped inside the town have had to rely on air transport to receive weapons, ammunition, provisions, and reinforcements. Since March of last year, the KIA has captured 14 towns in Kachin State, as well as Mabein in northern Shan State.

Junta ships forced to retreat after ambush on Ayeyarwady River

The naval vessels are part of a flotilla that has been making its way up the river from Mandalay since the middle of July

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