Resistance forces based in Sagaing Region’s Wetlet and Shwebo townships say they have carried out a series of attacks on two junta columns in recent days, resulting in multiple casualties.
On Tuesday evening, a Wetlet-based group called the Black Wolf Army used drones to ambush one of the columns near the village of Sakhan Thar, which is about 20km northeast of the town of Wetlet.
“They fired a few shots at us and then turned back to Wetlet,” said Khun Lay, a spokesperson for the group, adding that seven drones with bombs attached to them were used in the attack.
Several soldiers were injured, but the exact number could not be confirmed, he said.
Another column based in Kyauk Myaung, a town in Shwebo Township located on the western bank of the Ayeyarwady River, was ambushed on Wednesday by another local group called the People’s Servant Revolution-Wetlet.
After a brief exchange of fire, the junta forces retreated, according to a spokesperson for the group.
“We then attacked them with explosives. From what we could see using drones, at least one of them was injured,” said the spokesperson.
According to Khun Lay, the Black Wolf Army carried out a total of 24 attacks on regime forces within the month of May, including one on Sunday that he claimed left four junta soldiers injured.
Both of the junta columns involved in the recent incidents consisted of around 50 troops.
The soldiers based in Kyauk Myaung were accused of carrying out arson attacks in a number of villages in Wetlet Township in February.
Among the villages that were targeted were Ma Gyi Tone, Pin Zin, Mu Gyi, Wetlet Ywe, Tike Kone, Moke Soe Chone, Kyi Kan (North/South), Tha Khwa Taw, Sai Naing Gyi, and Aung Chan Thar.
In April, a junta column of around 70 soldiers was attacked by resistance forces near Aung Chan Thar, which is about 5km north of Wetlet. The column retaliated by torching more than 130 houses in the village.
Also in April, regime forces captured and killed six resistance fighters in Wetlet Township. The victims were all reportedly tortured.
Large numbers of villagers living in the area have been displaced by junta attacks, according to the People’s Servant Revolution-Wetlet spokesperson.
