Resistance forces make failed bid to capture police station near Mandalay

Anti-regime forces fought a six-hour battle for control of a police station in a town southwest of Mandalay on Sunday but were forced to retreat when junta reinforcements arrived, according to sources. The attack on the police station in Myotha, about 35 miles from Mandalay, began at around 6am and continued until noon, a resident of the town told Myanmar Now. “The resistance forces came from Natogyi, but didn’t start fighting right away. They said to close the market and warned everyone about the impending battle, so there were few casualties,” the local said. About an hour after the clash started, two Mi-35 attack helicopters and three military vehicles arrived from Ngazun, he added, noting that Myotha is located between Natogyi to the south and Ngazun to the north. “Their plan to raid the police station was leaked, so it wasn’t successful. They were probably going to just burn it down or something.” A number of locals were killed or injured when one of the helicopters opened fire near the Myotha Dam, south of the town, while trying to flush out the operators of a drone used in the attack on the police station, according to another local resident. “As the drone was about to land, the Mi-35 circled the area to find out where it had been launched from. People at the dam were afraid, so they started running. That’s when they were shot,” the resident said. Myanmar Now was unable to obtain detailed casualty figures at the time of reporting. According to locals, Myotha has been under lockdown since the attack, and several people living near the police station have been arrested. Around two-thirds of the town’s roughly 10,000 inhabitants have reportedly fled the area. Pro-regime Telegram channels reported that two junta policemen were killed in the assault, while three resistance fighters were also found dead. A spokesperson for the Natogyi Township People’s Defence Organisation, one of the groups involved in the attack, confirmed the failure of the operation and described the situation as “complex.” The attack was part of the Myingyan District Special Operation, an offensive launched on August 10 in areas south of Mandalay. Resistance forces claim to have attacked and destroyed 20 junta bases in Myingyan and Tada-U districts since the start of the operation. Myotha is in Myingyan District’s Ngazun Township and is strategically located on the highway linking the towns of Myingyan and Tada-U. The Myingyan District Special Operation is a joint offensive involving forces under command of the publicly mandated National Unity Government’s Ministry of Defence and allied ethnic armed groups. The junta has been retaliating by conducting airstrikes on towns and villages in Myingyan District, including Natogyi, the administrative centre of Natogyi Township. An airstrike was also carried out on a village in Kyaukpadaung Township, southwest of Myingyan, on Sunday, killing four civilians.

Resistance forces make failed bid to capture police station near Mandalay

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