Members of several People’s Defence Force (PDF) groups carried out two attacks on police stations in Magway and Sagaing regions last week, according to local resistance sources.
Both assaults took place last Thursday—the first at around 11am in Magway’s Yesagyo Township and the second about an hour later in Sagaing’s Salingyi Township, the sources said.
Nine different PDF groups were involved in the first attack, which targeted the Pa Khan Nge Police Station in Yesagyo, while three groups mounted the second offensive against the Kyar Tat Central Police Station in Salingyi.
According to a joint statement released by all of the groups involved, at least 23 junta personnel were killed in the two attacks.
The assault on the police station in Pa Khan Nge ended when reinforcements arrived, according to a spokesperson for the Phoenix Special Guerrilla Force, which led the offensive.
“We were very close to taking complete control of the station when more troops showed up, so we had to withdraw,” he told Myanmar Now.
He added that the Pa Khan Nge police station was heavily fortified, with not just bunkers and towers for snipers, but also communication tunnels and landmines laid around the area.
Two rocket-propelled grenades and seven 40mm mortar shells were used to launch the attack, he said.
Following the incident, regime forces reportedly confiscated residents’ mobile phones and also torched several houses.
According to the leader of the Yesagyo PDF, the attack in Kyar Tat, located some 55km northwest of Pa Khan Nge, lasted four hours, but also had to be abandoned when backup forces arrived.
“We managed to get inside and had already started to set fires, but then reinforcements from Pale arrived, forcing us to retreat. We didn’t have a chance to get into their armoury,” said Wai Gyi, the Yesagyo PDF leader.
Nine junta personnel were reportedly killed in the Kyar Tat attack, which was carried out by members of the Salingyi, Yesagyo and Myaing PDFs.
Two PDF members were injured but are in stable condition, according to Wai Gyi.
