Myanmar regime forces retake Indaw after nine days of fighting

Myanmar’s military regime has retaken the town of Indaw in northern Sagaing Region after nine days of fighting with resistance forces, according to local sources and state media. The town, which resistance groups captured more than a year ago, fell to junta troops on Thursday evening following a sustained offensive that began April 21, sources said. Military reinforcements had arrived earlier in April in Katha, about 16 miles east of Indaw, before hundreds of troops advanced toward the town, residents told Myanmar Now. Despite attempts by resistance forces to block the advancing columns, junta troops entered and secured Indaw before nightfall on Thursday, a resistance-affiliated source said. “They have taken the whole town,” the source said, adding that troops were seen taking photos in Indaw to document their presence there. The source also said junta units have been deployed not only in the town, but also in nearby villages to the west. Residents said resistance fighters struggled to halt the advance due to a shortage of ammunition, despite using multiple tactics during the fighting. Zin Yaw, a former army captain who defected to the resistance, previously served in the Indaw area. He attributed the loss to supply constraints rather than battlefield weakness. “From what I know, there was simply insufficient ammunition,” he said, comparing it to the situation in Falam, a town in northern Chin State that was recaptured by junta forces late last week. Myanmar’s state-run media reported that 33 opposition fighters were killed and 18 weapons seized during the operation. The claims could not be independently verified. The military junta, which has bolstered its ranks through a recently enacted conscription law, has regained control of several towns in recent months, including Singu, Thabeikkyin, and Tagaung in Mandalay Region. It has also reinforced its positions in Tigyaing and Katha in Sagaing Region, which were previously blockaded by resistance forces, and appears to be using those areas as staging grounds for further offensives in the region. On February 8, junta forces, alongside the Shanni Nationalities Army, recaptured Banmauk, another town in Sagaing Region that resistance forces had held for more than four months.

Myanmar regime forces retake Indaw after nine days of fighting

The town in northern Sagaing Region is the latest to fall to junta troops in recent months

Subscribe for full access

Burned, beaten, and hunted: Myanmar worker survives alleged torture in Thailand

In Myanmar’s heartland, desperation fuels a shadow trade in stolen identities

How the global fuel crisis is upending Myanmar’s rice supply chain

No way out: Junta airstrike leaves prisoners burned alive in AA camp

Subscribe for full access

Related Articles

Buddhist abbot detained, beaten for defying Myanmar junta ally in Kachin State

Myanmar junta intensifies attacks along Chin-Magway border

AA joins clashes in northern Sagaing, as resistance fights to secure key stronghold

Rival resistance forces launch joint attacks to repel junta advance in Magway