6 Hours Gunfight With Civilians, 30 Burmese Regime Soldiers Killed

Illustration of a civilian resistance team. (Facebook/Demoso People Defense Force)

JAKARTA - At least 30 soldiers of the Myanmar military regime were reported killed in two exchanges of fire with civil resistance forces in Kani and Yinmabin townships, Sagaing Region, Tuesday, June 22.

Citing The Irrawaddy, Wednesday, June 23, about 1,000 civil resistance fighters, using homemade rifles, attacked about 60 soldiers of the Myanmar military regiment stationed in Tayaw Kyin village beside the Monywa-Kalaywa Highway. The village is near the border of Kani and Yinmabin townships in Sagaing County.

"During a six-hour firefight, about 10 junta soldiers were killed, a villager involved in the fighting told The Irrawaddy.

Taking control and confining the territory, other resistance forces from the two townships also ambushed about 60 reinforcements of the military regime army from Monywa who traveled to the village of Tayaw Kyin to help their defeated comrades.

In addition, five landmines were planted by the resistance forces on the Monywa-Kalaywa highway between Tayar Kyin and Bant Bway villages and claimed the lives of Myanmar military soldiers.

"Around 15 to 20 junta soldiers were killed", according to eyewitnesses. In retaliation, security forces burned about eight houses near Bant Bway.

A day later, more than 100 junta reinforcements were brought in to pursue civilian resistance forces, including into the forest near the villages.

"They searched all the houses beside the highway and the forest. They opened fire randomly", said a member of the civil resistance.

More than a thousand civilians in Kani Township have fled their homes to escape the fighting and regime attacks.

Separately, two regime police officers were reportedly killed by civil resistance Zero Guerrilla Forces during a raid on a police post in Nagzon Township of Mandalay Region on Tuesday night.

A member of the group told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday, about 25 fighters stormed the Min Nay Gon outpost in Nganzon Township on Tuesday night.

During a 20-minute firefight, two officers, including a police captain, were killed and the resistance fighters managed to retreat without casualties, the source said. However, The Irrawaddy was unable to independently confirm police casualties.

"We are a force to fight injustice. We will never accept a military regime. We have vowed to fight everything related to the junta", said the member.

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