Myanmar regime intensifies push to retake outpost in Sagaing’s Pale Township

Tensions escalated in Sagaing Region’s Pale Township over the weekend, as junta forces intensified their efforts to recapture a key outpost close to the Sagaing-Magway border, according to local sources. The outpost, near the village of Kant Daunt on the Pale-Gangaw road, has been under resistance control since it was seized in June after more than two weeks of fighting. “Kant Daunt has been surrounded since junta troops took up position in Nyaung Yin Kone and Thar Zi three days ago,” a source close to the resistance told Myanmar Now on Monday. Nyaung Yin Kone is a village about one mile east of Kant Daunt, and Thar Zi is roughly one mile to the south. According to the source, the regime forces have been advancing on Kant Daunt from several villages that they have secured west of Inn Ma Htee, a stronghold of the pro-junta Pyu Saw Htee militia. Pale Township is one of nine townships that the regime placed under a state of emergency on July 31. Resistance forces led by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) fought for 18 days to seize the junta outpost near Kaunt Daunt, weathering relentless airstrikes until it finally fell on June 19. At the time, the allied resistance forces described the capture of the outpost as a “birthday gift” to Aung San Suu Kyi, who turned 80 that day. In addition to the PLA—the armed wing of the Communist Party of Burma—the offensive included troops from the All Burma Student Democratic Front, the Burma Liberation Democratic Front, and local People Defence Force units. The PLA also claimed that its fighters shot down a junta fighter jet that crashed into the village of Sa Par Sayt on June 10. After losing control of Kant Daunt, the junta sent reinforcements from Inn Ma Htee, about three miles southeast of Kant Daunt, in a bid to retake the outpost. A spokesperson for the PLA told Myanmar Now on Saturday that Kant Daunt remains under resistance control despite the regime’s recent advances. “Junta troops carried out heavy shelling to push their units forward, but they were repelled by resistance forces and couldn’t enter Kant Daunt,” said PLA spokesperson Ni Ni Kyaw. Since June, at least 10,000 people have been displaced in Pale Township and remain unable to return to their homes amid the ongoing hostilities. Many are sheltering in monasteries, while others are staying in makeshift huts in open fields. Junta airstrikes have killed at least five civilians since the fighting began, while four others were also confirmed dead as a result of the plane crash in Sa Par Sayt.

Myanmar regime intensifies push to retake outpost in Sagaing’s Pale Township

The outpost, located near the village of Kant Daunt, has been under resistance control since late June

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