The Mandalay People’s Defence Force (MDY-PDF) claimed to have attacked a base of the regime air force in eastern Madaya Township early Saturday morning, firing weaponry inside its perimeters.
The site in question, Air Defence Base 1014, is located near the Si Taw Gyi Dam and Ingyin Myaing village, and is one of two particularly strategic Myanmar military sites in Madaya Township, the other being a recruitment centre. Saturday marked the first time it came under assault by the resistance since the February 2021 coup.
“We attacked them with 107mm missiles and all of them detonated inside the junta base,” said Ko Osmond, the information officer for the MDY-PDF, which is made up of five battalions and fights under the publicly mandated National Unity Government. The group has become well known for participating in anti-junta operations in Nawnghkio Township, on Shan State’s border with Mandalay.
Ko Osmond added that the guerrilla fighters also overtook the outpost located in front of the camp.
The resistance group also intercepted reinforcement troops sent from the city of Mandalay and from Thabeikkyin Township as the two convoys of three trucks each headed towards Ingyin Myaing.
A member of a local guerrilla force allied with the MDY-PDF said that six more convoys, each with 50 to 60 soldiers, arrived later in the day.
Much of the local population in eastern Madaya Township has been displaced as the region becomes more heavily militarised. Residents of around 15 villages, including Ingyin Myaing, recently fled their homes.
“We had to run into nearby forests as we don’t have displaced persons’ camps around here. I don’t know how long [the military] is going to keep attacking us but it usually lasts three to five days in my experience,” a local man said.
Days ago, an officer in an urban guerrilla group based in eastern Madaya, the Nat Soe Underground Revolutionary Group, was arrested by junta forces.
