Myanmar junta airstrikes kill three as fighting for control of Sagaing town intensifies

Myanmar’s military carried out multiple airstrikes on the Sagaing Region town of Pale on Wednesday, killing three civilians, as clashes with local resistance forces continued into their third day. The town, located less than 30 miles southwest of the region’s capital Monywa, which is also the seat of the junta’s Northwestern Regional Military Command, has seen fierce fighting since Monday, sources there reported. The Burma National Revolutionary Army (BNRA), a group that operates independently of the National Unity Government (NUG), has been leading efforts to take control of Pale’s police station and general administration office, the sources said. “The fighting is still ongoing. Fighter jets have attacked the town several times since this morning. They’ve paused now, but an Mi-35 [attack helicopter] is keeping up the assault,” Zaw Htet, an official with the NUG’s civilian administration in Pale Township, told Myanmar Now late Wednesday. At least three people—two men and a woman—were confirmed dead in the attacks, with efforts still underway to determine the exact number of casualties, he added. There have also been reports that the resistance forces have captured several junta positions in the town, but this could not be independently verified. Pro-junta Telegram channels reported that Pale’s police station and general administration office had been besieged by a “significant” number of resistance forces since early Wednesday morning, and called for reinforcements and airstrikes. Nearly 6,000 people from Pale and nearby villages have been displaced by the fighting, according to Zaw Htet. He added that NUG authorities have identified seven local regime administrators among the displaced. “They have been placed with other displaced civilians, but their mobile phones and communication devices have been confiscated. We are keeping an eye on them, but they are not being detained,” he said. Although the regime has established its own administration in Pale Township, it is largely confined to the town of Pale and a few villages occupied by the army and military-backed militia forces. In July, local resistance forces attacked junta positions in Pale and briefly seized control of the town. However, they were soon compelled to withdraw due to a lack of weapons and ammunition. The BNRA, formerly called the Myanmar Royal Dragon Army, is led by Bo Nagar, a prominent figure in the armed resistance movement that emerged in the wake of the 2021 coup. Although the group is not under the command of the NUG’s Ministry of Defence, it says that it cooperates with the publicly mandated government formed to resist the military takeover.

Myanmar junta airstrikes kill three as fighting for control of Sagaing town intensifies

Fierce clashes continue as resistance forces launch their latest bid to capture Pale Township’s administrative centre

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