Myanmar junta masses troops in northern Sagaing to retake town captured by resistance

Hundreds of junta forces have arrived in northern Sagaing Region’s Kanbalu Township in recent days ahead of an expected assault on Kawlin, a town that has been controlled by the shadow National Unity Government (NUG) since late last year. According to local defence groups, as many as 1,000 soldiers and members of the military-backed Pyu Saw Htee militia are currently stationed in the town of Kanbalu, which is some 50 miles south of Kawlin. Most of the soldiers are from junta bases in Shwebo Township, which lies another 50 miles to the south, and are stationed at the base of Tank Battalion 6006 in Kanbalu, resistance sources told Myanmar Now. Helicopters have also been seen bringing weapons and supplies into the area, the sources added. Thousands of local civilians have already fled the area in anticipation of major fighting, according to a man with ties to the defence teams. “We are preparing defences as well as evacuating civilians to safer places due to the build-up of junta forces in the area,” he told Myanmar Now on Tuesday. Junta troops in Kanbalu Township in the third week of January (State Administration Council) On Monday evening, a column of around 250 regime soldiers arrived in Kyunhla, a town less than 10 miles north of Kanbalu, prompting residents of nearby villages to flee, he said. The defence teams say they expect the military to launch an assault on Kawlin from the villages of Chat Thin and Chat Gyi, located between Kanbalu and Kawlin. Both villages are controlled by local Pyu Saw Htee forces. Meanwhile, there were also reports that a number of junta soldiers, including two who were captured by resistance forces, deserted their units in order to avoid taking part in the coming offensive. According to the information officer of the Khin-U People’s Defence Force (PDF), the captured soldiers said they had recently received pardons from prison so that they could join the military. One of the soldiers also said that there were six more deserters in his group, the information officer added. “He said they were told they would have to fight to win back Pyu Saw Htee villages overtaken by the resistance, so we’re assuming they plan to start with an assault on villages in Kanbalu Township,” said the information officer. Anti-regime groups captured Kawlin on November 6, making it the first district-level administrative centre to come under the control of the NUG, Myanmar’s publicly mandated civilian government. The NUG later revealed that it had confiscated more than 44 billion kyat (US$20.9 million) from banks in Kawlin. It said it would use the money to finance the armed resistance movement against the regime that seized power in February 2021.

Myanmar junta masses troops in northern Sagaing to retake town captured by resistance

Hundreds of regime forces have been readied for what looks set to be a full-scale assault on the NUG-controlled town of Kawlin

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