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In central Myanmar, rebel forces ambushed a vehicle near a junta stronghold, killing 12 women as they headed to work in nearby fields, military-controlled media reported Wednesday.
No group claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s attack in the Sagaing region, but anti-junta activists there have established groups, known as the People’s Defense Forces, or PDF, that launch ambushes and raids on military posts as part of their campaign against the junta that took power in 2021.
The women were heading to work near the village of Kywei Pon when the attackers opened fire with rifles and a rocket launcher. Burma Alin the newspaper reported. Three injured women were being treated in hospital.
Armed people in the women’s vehicle returned fire before the soldiers arrived, said a resident of Kywei Pon, who requested anonymity for security reasons.
“Soon after, the junta army arrived and took away the injured with emergency vehicles,” the resident said.
No information has been communicated on victims among the attackers.
Many junta supporters, including members of militias that help the army, live in Kywei Pon, which is why the PDF often attack it, the resident added.
A PDF member in Sagaing, who also declined to be identified for security reasons, told Radio Free Asia that anti-junta forces were not involved in the attack, although he acknowledged not knowing the details of the incident.
The army showed security operations in response, Burma Alin reported. Residents said the army fired artillery at the nearby village of Taung Kyar, believing PDF members were stationed there. No casualties have been reported.
Residents of other nearby villages fled their homes Tuesday evening, fearing further attacks by junta forces, residents said.
Sagaing has seen some of the worst violence in Myanmar since the military took power three years ago, with clashes and airstrikes leaving hundreds dead. Thousands of people have been displaced by the fighting.
Seven of Sagaing’s PDFs, which are loosely organized under a civilian government of national unity, or NUG, are under investigation by the NUG for alleged human rights violations.
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Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Kiana Duncan and Mike Firn.