A coalition of local resistance forces called the Crocodile Column launched a lethal assault on Myanmar military troops stationed in a village in Tanintharyi Region’s Palaw Township on Thursday, a spokesperson for the alliance said.
A statement from Crocodile Column, which is allied with the publicly mandated National Unity Government (NUG), described the ambush on 30 junta troops and military-backed Pyu Saw Htee militia members in Htamin Ma Sar village at noon, and the five-hour battle that ensued.
“We divided into two groups, entered the village, and clashed with them in the south, where the junta security forces were deployed,” Mya Zan, Crocodile Column’s spokesperson, told Myanmar Now on Friday morning. “We managed to kill one of them inside a hut. Then, they fired back from the schools and pagodas in the middle of the village.”
Three other junta soldiers were severely injured and another was captured alive, he said. Crocodile Column members also seized one MA-1 assault rifle and ammunition.
Htamin Ma Sar village is a known stronghold of Pyu Saw Htee militia forces, located 12 miles north of Palaw town on the road connecting Dawei and Myeik in the coastal region of Tanintharyi.
“They abuse and threaten the villagers. That’s why we launched the attack,” Mya Zan said of the militia and army personnel stationed in Htamin Ma Sar.
Some 20 junta soldiers who had been stationed in nearby villages arrived at the scene of the clash as reinforcements when fighting broke out on Thursday, and a junta unit based in Pyay Char, five miles north of Htamin Ma Sar, also fired heavy artillery shells at the site.
While the Crocodile Column troops managed to withdraw after the attack, the military continued shelling the area in pursuit of the guerrilla fighters.
The resistance column said in its statement that it had suffered no casualties in the incident and had torched three buildings in Htamin Ma Sar where regime forces had been stationed.
At the time of reporting, the military had not released any information on recent clashes in southern Myanmar.
In a separate statement published on Friday, the Crocodile Column explained that it, as a coalition, was borne “out of necessity on the ground,” and intended to unify anti-junta defence forces in Tanintharyi. It also noted that it would abide by policies imposed by the NUG.
Throughout the nearly two years since the February 2021 coup, Tanintharyi Region, which has a heavy military presence, has seen several clashes between regime forces and local guerrilla groups.
However, the Crocodile Column described Thursday’s operation as the first in which several area resistance forces had collaborated on a single mission.
