Routes linking Yangon and Mandalay hit by mine attacks

A bridge on the old Yangon-Mandalay highway and a section of railway linking the two cities were both significantly damaged by mine attacks carried out by resistance forces on Wednesday, according to state media reports. The incidents occurred in Bago Region’s Pyu Township, in territory controlled by Brigade 3 of the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA). Both attacks took place near Kanyut Kwin, a village about 15 miles south of the town of Pyu. An explosion destroyed the Nganu Than highway bridge near Kanyut Kwin, while a train was derailed by a second blast on the rail line between Kanyut Kwin and Nyaung Pin Thar, about five miles to the north, junta-controlled media reported. There were no casualties caused by the derailment, but at least two trains had to be cancelled early Wednesday. A source close to the anti-regime People’s Defence Force (PDF), which is also active in the area, said that the attacks were part of an effort by the resistance to take control of the old Yangon-Mandalay highway, a strategically important route used by the military to transport weapons and reinforcements. The highway is separate from a newer one that was constructed after a former regime built Naypyitaw and made it the country’s capital in 2005. The section of the rail line between Kanyut Kwin and Nyaung Pin Thar that was destroyed by a resistance mine on May 1 (MOI) On January 4, Myanmar’s Independence Day, the KNLA and the PDF overran at least five junta camps along the highway near Kanyut Kwin. Last December, resistance forces also attacked a police station in Nyaung Pin Thar. In November 2021, PDF fighters ambushed a checkpoint in Pyu Township, killing five police officers and seizing two rifles. Since late last year, the regime has moved to increase security near Naypyitaw to prevent resistance forces from infiltrating the military-controlled capital. The PDF, the armed wing of the shadow National Unity Government, is active throughout Bago Region, while the All Burma Students’ Democratic Front and the Bamar People’s Liberation Army are also present in the eastern part of the region, in areas adjacent to or overlapping KNLA-controlled territories. Meanwhile, intense fighting has been reported near Hpapun in Karen State, which was captured by KNLA-led resistance forces in late March. Regime-controlled media claims that resistance forces have carried out at least 131 mine attacks targeting railways and rail stations across the country since February 2021.

Routes linking Yangon and Mandalay hit by mine attacks

One attack destroyed a bridge on the old Yangon-Mandalay highway, while another caused a train to derail in the same area in Bago Region

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