An estimated 20 military personnel and at least two members of the local People’s Defence Force (PDF) were killed in a clash in Kawlin Township, Sagaing Region on Sunday evening, according to local sources.
The fighting broke out along the Kawlin-Shwebo Rd near Kokkogone village.
“I heard that three military vehicles were intercepted and attacked by the PDF. Four members of our Kawlin PDF were reportedly killed—we can confirm the deaths of at least two. We heard that around 20 members of the junta’s forces were killed. It is an estimation,” a Kawlin resident told Myanmar Now.
He added that the two deceased PDF members were from Kawlin town.
Former Lower House parliamentarian Myo Zaw Aung of Kawlin wrote on his Facebook page that more than 30 junta troops were killed in Monday’s clashes.
Myanmar Now was not able to independently verify the death toll.
The MP also wrote that three members of the Kawlin PDF were killed, and paid tribute to them in his post.
“I feel very sad that the young people whom I could count on as my own brothers have died. We will work firmly until the revolution is successful,” he wrote.
The PDF attacked the military trucks on the Kawlin-Shwebo Rd, which were carrying reinforcement troops for the junta’s armed forces, which suffered heavy casualties in fighting near Thitsaingone village in Kawlin on Friday, according to locals.
On the same day, gunfire erupted also in Kawlin town. Two women were injured when artillery shells fired by the junta’s forces hit a house in the town, according to photos shared by residents on social media.
The Kawlin PDF issued a warning urging residents not to take to the streets that day, instead asking them to stay indoors. They have not released any information related to fighting over the weekend.
According to locals, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) were fighting alongside the Kawlin PDF in the Friday attack against the military.
In Katha and Htigyaing townships—also in Sagaing—the PDF and KIA recently cooperated in fighting against the junta’s forces, according to PDF chapters in the townships.
KIA information officer Col Naw Bu said that though the organisation’s headquarters had not instructed the Kachin troops to cooperate with the local PDFs, some KIA soldiers may have chosen to do so.
As Katha and Htigyaing are located near Sagaing Region’s border with Kachin State, near areas where the KIA is active.
Myanmar Now tried to call the junta’s information team for comment on the situation in Kawlin, but was unable to make contact.
