Myanmar junta continues air, arson attacks across Mandalay Region

The Myanmar regime has kept up its attacks on civilian targets in resistance strongholds in Mandalay Region, including in areas that have seen no recent fighting, according to local sources. On Wednesday, a junta airstrike on a village in Taungtha Township, southwest of the city of Mandalay, injured two women and damaged a school, sources there told Myanmar Now. The attack took place in the village of Za Yat Gyi, about eight miles east of the township’s administrative centre, and reportedly involved not only a conventional aircraft, but also a motor-equipped paraglider. “This is the first time they’ve attacked us this way. We think they might be resorting to this technology to save on aviation fuel,” said a resident of the village. He added that the two women suffered only minor shrapnel injuries, and that no children were injured because the school wasn’t in session at the time of the attack. Taungtha Township is one of four townships included in the Myingyan District Special Operation, an offensive launched by the anti-regime People’s Defence Force (PDF) in August. In November, a junta counteroffensive forced some groups operating in the area to withdraw, while others maintain a strong presence there. Za Yat Gyi is one of several villages in the area that were cleared by the junta last year because they were believed to have been “infiltrated” by the PDF and other resistance forces. A motor-equipped paraglider reportedly used during the attack on Za Yat Gyi on December 25 (Taungtha Public Movement Committee) North of Mandalay, there were reports of ongoing arson attacks on villages in western Madaya Township, which was retaken by the regime in late November. On Thursday, residents of the area reported attacks on Mway Thit Tall, a village that has been targeted six times over the past month. “All the villages are gradually disappearing. The military is setting them on fire in order to quell the resistance groups. Yesterday it was Mway Pu Thein, and today it is Mway Thit Tall,” said a local man who spoke on condition of anonymity. “The junta is just destroying the villages, even though there hasn’t been any recent fighting around here,” he added. Farther north, in Thabeikkyin Township, serious clashes have been reported near the key village of Twin Nge since Saturday, as resistance forces attempt to retake it following its capture by the regime earlier this month. “The fighting is fierce today, with the junta’s ground and air forces trying to push the resistance groups back,” said Ni Ni Kyaw, general secretary of the People’s Liberation Army, speaking to Myanmar Now on Thursday. Junta warplanes have dropped six 500lb bombs on resistance positions in the area, he added. Casualty figures were not available at the time of reporting.

Myanmar junta continues air, arson attacks across Mandalay Region

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