Regime destroy oil wells in Myaing Township, cutting resistance profits and jobs

A regime column stationed near a major oilfield in Myaing Township, Magway Region, has begun mining and destroying oil plots in an effort to cut funding for anti-junta forces, local resistance groups said. Junta troops positioned in Te Gyi, a village located near the Well 2 oilfield, have been entering the area to mine and destroy oil wells, destroying almost 50 wells as well as drilling machinery and refining stoves over the past two weeks. “They mainly mine the oil pits so people can't earn a living from them. After mining and destroying them, they head back to their base village. They use drones mostly for reconnaissance, but destroy the sites in person,” said Pyae Phyo Kyaw, spokesperson for the Anyar Tamar Operation. The Anyar Tamar Operation is the name of the joint resistance campaign combating the junta’s advance, which has been ongoing since May. Te Gyi is located on the border of Myaing and Pauk townships, about three miles from the Well 2 oilfield. Since establishing a foothold in the village, the junta troops have destroyed much of the village itself, while traveling back and forth to the oilfield to burn and destroy oil plots, Pyae Phyo Kyaw said. Resistance forces had seized the oilfield from the junta in 2024. Producing thousands of barrels of oil daily, it has since served as a vital source of income for resistance forces. However, it was unlikely the junta column would be able to permanently base itself in Te Gyi or the oilfield area, as they have been constantly moving between the two locations and destroying them both, a local resistance fighter from Myaing Township said. The regime first attempted to retake the oilfield late last year, but was forced to retreat. In early May this year, troops from the Pakokku-based Light Infantry Division 101 launched a new offensive around the tri-point of Pakokku, Myaing, and Pauk townships, eventually establishing a foothold in Te Gyi in late August. Myanmar Now reported earlier that during the junta’s advance, regime soldiers killed almost 30 civilians, including displaced people. They also burned down nearly 400 houses across about 10 villages in Pauk and Myaing townships. Thousands of residents from villages in Myaing Township have since fled to safer areas to avoid the column, but as time wears on they face increasing hardships, particularly those employed at the wells, a Myaing local told Myanmar Now. “It is extremely tough for the well workers, and the workers who came from afar. It’s raining, commodity and fuel prices are high, and there is an immense fear of airstrikes and kamikaze drones,” the local explained. Myanmar Now made repeated phone calls to San Nyunt Aung, Magway Region’s junta-appointed spokesperson, but received no response. According to data released by the Tamar Institute of Development, a civil society organisation monitoring military activities in Magway Region, intense clashes between the regime and resistance forces have continued over the past three and a half months. In August alone, there were 97 junta airstrikes on the township which destroyed over 380 homes. Following the appointment of Gen. Ye Win Oo as the military’s new commander-in-chief after the junta-controlled election, the regime has launched large-scale offensives across Myanmar to recapture lost territory. In Magway Region, in addition to the battle for Myaing oilfields, clashes occurred daily during August in Saw and Htilin townships as the junta attempted to penetrate Chin State via the Yaw area. Clashes also intensified in Mindon Township as junta forces tried to retake territory in Rakhine State, according to the Tamar Institute.

Regime destroy oil wells in Myaing Township, cutting resistance profits and jobs

The oilfield had served as a vital source of income for local resistance forces since it was seized in 2024, but is now being systematically destroyed

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