The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) jointly attacked a junta police station in northern Sagaing Region’s Indaw Township with the local People’s Defence Force (PDF) chapter on Sunday, causing major casualties, a spokesperson said.
The information officer for the Indaw PDF told Myanmar Now that they learned the site in Me Zar village was occupied by police, soldiers and members of the military-backed Pyu Saw Htee militia when they struck it at 3am.
“We were planning to take over the base, assuming they had only around 20 to 30 people inside, but we later found out that they’d built proper bunkers and trenches and that there were around 100 of them, so we didn’t manage to seize control of the base,” the PDF spokesperson said.
While the resistance forces managed to enter the compound and destroy several bunkers, they ultimately withdrew at 8am.
The junta reportedly responded with artillery fire during the five-hour battle.
Myanmar Now was unable to independently verify the number of casualties in the clash, but according to accounts provided by guerrilla fighters, up to 30 junta personnel were killed, along with one member of the KIA-PDF coalition. Three more members of the resistance were injured.
There was reportedly one civilian casualty, a 19-year-old man from the ward near the police station, who was shot in the chest during the exchange of gunfire.
The Indaw PDF information officer said that he later learned from military sources that the Myanmar army had sent a helicopter to retrieve the bodies of 11 junta soldiers, including a lieutenant, at 2pm on Sunday.
A Myanmar army truck transporting some 30 reinforcement troops from Indaw town to Me Zar was also intercepted by the PDF en route at around 8am on Sunday, while the clash was ongoing in the village.
The attack resulted in the death of five of the soldiers, with several more injured. Another passing truck carrying fuel also reportedly caught fire and was destroyed, according to the PDF spokesperson.
Citing local eyewitnesses, he said that the military left the wrecked truck at a nearby petrol station and asked civilians in the area for spades with which to bury the slain troops.
“They buried the dead soldiers on the side of the road. They only attempt to retrieve the bodies when the ones killed are higher-ranking officers,” the information officer in the resistance force said.
While battles appeared to have stopped around Indaw town, a junta column of more than 70 soldiers was recently seen heading towards Me Zar from Htigyaing Township, according to the Indaw PDF.
At the time of reporting, Myanmar Now was still trying to obtain comment from KIA spokesperson Col Naw Bu regarding the weekend fighting around Me Zar.
Serious clashes have recently been breaking out in Sagaing’s northern townships and along the region’s border with Kachin State, including in Indaw, Katha and Pinlebu.
The military council rarely releases information on such battles.
