Supported by air and artillery strikes, junta forces fended off an attack by resistance fighters on a police station in southern Gangaw Township, Magway Region on Tuesday.
The Min Ywar village police station, located about 10 miles south of Gangaw, came under attack by an alliance of several local armed resistance groups, said an officer of Battalion 14 of the Gangaw District People’s Defence Force (PDF).
During the fighting, a junta heavy artillery unit stationed near Pyit Ma village, just southeast of Gangaw, fired shells in the direction of the battle and a junta fighter plane carried out an airstrike, he said.
Around 50 junta troops were present at the Min Ywar village police station when the resistance groups launched their assault, leading to a battle that lasted four hours.
According to the Gangaw District PDF officer, heavy artillery shelling during the clash was relentless, causing injuries to several of the resistance groups’ fighters before ultimately forcing their retreat.
“They fired on us with 107mm shells. It was a hard fight. The constant barrage from the heavy guns made it difficult either to make headway or pull back,” he said.
Having started near 5am, the battle had not stopped by 9am, at which time the resistance fighters prepared to retreat but were stopped when a fighter jet carried out two airstrikes targeting them.
The jet’s attack did not cause casualties among the fighters but damaged several houses in Min Ywar. Details on the extent of the damage are still unverified, the Gangaw District PDF officer said.
No details about junta casualties from the battle were available, while 11 resistance fighters are now undergoing medical treatment for their injuries.
Near the same time as the allied anti-junta forces’ assault on the Min Ywar police station south of Gangaw, other resistance forces fired on two villages north of the town, Kan and Taungkhinyan, where pro-junta Pyu Saw Htee militia forces are known to operate. However, according to the Gangaw District PDF officer, the resistance forces’ shelling did not provoke a reaction.
In contrast to the artillery and air attacks against the forces attacking the Min Ywar police station, there was no return fire even after the anti-junta forces shot more than 30 heavy artillery shells at the Pyu Saw Htee strongholds north of Gangaw, he said.
“We approached the two villages in the north as a feint, but didn’t intend to raid them. Instead, we fired heavy artillery at them from close range. What’s a bit strange is that they didn’t fire back a single shot,” he said.
Battalions 1, 7, 11, 12, and 14 of the Gangaw District PDF, which operates under the command of the publicly mandated National Unity Government, took part in the Gangaw Township attacks. They were joined by members of the All Burma Students’ Democratic Front (ABSDF), the Minbu District PDF, and the Gangaw Township People’s Defence Team.
