Myanmar’s military killed 24 people including prisoners in airstrikes on a resistance-held area of Singu Township, Mandalay Region on Tuesday, according to resistance sources.
A statement issued by the Mandalay Region People’s Defence Forces (MDY-PDF) detailed how junta bombs struck the police station in Let Pan Hla village some five miles east of Singu, killing 21 men and a woman being held there. The air force also bombed Shwe Pan Taw village to the west of Let Pan Hla, killing one woman and one man, the statement said.
“The explosions harmed detainees being held on various charges, including some suspected of providing reconnaissance information to the junta council, as well as civilians serving sentences,” MDY-PDF spokesperson Osmond told Myanmar Now.
“The Let Pan Hla police station serves as a center for regional stability, law enforcement, and investigations. Tragically, several prisoners lost their lives in the attack,” he added.
The MDY-PDF and allied fighters captured Singu in July 2024 during the second phase of the Operation 1027 offensive against the military in northern Shan State and parts of Mandalay Region.
The armed resistance group installed its own administrative apparatus in Singu, located on the east bank of the Ayeyarwady River, and has been governing the town and its surroundings since then.
While most people of Singu Township depend primarily on farming and gold mining for their livelihoods, Let Pan Hla serves more as a commercial hub, partly due to its location on the Mandalay-Myitkyina road.
The military has conducted numerous attacks targeting areas under resistance control in the township since last year, often targeting Let Pan Hla.
The junta launched three aerial attacks on the village just in the month of March this year, killing 35 civilians including children. An attack on the Let Pan Hla police station early in the month killed a woman at a nearby betel stand.
According to Osmond, the MDY-PDF took greater precautions in response to these attacks, constructing and installing bunkers, warning bells, and communication tunnels in the village.
Myanmar’s military has launched a counteroffensive to recapture territory lost to resistance forces and anti-junta ethnic armed groups during Operation 1027.
Junta forces have successfully retaken control of Nawnghkio, northern Shan State, Moebye on southern Shan State’s border with Karenni (Kayah) State, and Thabeikkyin, Mandalay Region, less than 40 miles north of Singu, in July.
Intense fighting is also ongoing between junta forces and resistance fighters in Mandalay Region’s Madaya Township, just south of Singu.Another airstrike on Tuesday killed six people, including a child, at a hotel in Kutkai, northern Shan State. Kutkai is currently under the control of anti-junta ethnic groups including the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), which has sometimes fought alongside the MDY-PDF.
