Forces of Myanmar’s junta attacked a series of villages in central Myanmar, killing three civilians and forcing some 10,000 people to flee after anti-junta insurgents attacked a nearby military base, residents told Radio Free Asia on Friday.
The Sagaing region is regularly hit by airstrikes and artillery bombardments as junta forces suppress insurgent groups who have intensified their attacks over the past nine months.
About 150 junta soldiers in a convoy of vehicles attacked at least nine villages in Kanbalu municipality on Thursday, residents said, following an attack on a military camp by members of the anti-junta People’s Defense Forces allied with the National Unity Shadow Government, which was formed by civilians after the military seized power in a 2021 coup.
“After the attack on the Kyi Kone bridge camp, the army launched an offensive on the villages,” said a resident who requested anonymity out of fear for his safety.
“Junta troops stationed in Tha Yet Khaung village are burning houses this morning. Revolutionary groups are monitoring the situation,” he said, referring to anti-junta fighters.
Three civilians from the villages of Tha Yet Khaung and Tha Pyay Thar were killed in artillery and drone attacks by the junta.
The Kanbalu district and People’s Defense Forces based in Ye-U municipality said they killed 16 soldiers and seized weapons during their attack on the military camp. RFA has not been able to independently verify this claim.
RFA called Nyunt Win Aung, junta spokesperson for the Sagaing region, to ask for comment on the incident, but he did not answer the phone.
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Sagaing, for years a peaceful region in the heart of central Myanmar inhabited mainly by members of the majority Burmese community, has seen unprecedented opposition to the military since the 2021 coup dashed hopes for reform.
In the months that followed, the junta suppressed protests against military rule and many activists took up arms, some joining forces with ethnic minority insurgents who have fought for decades for self-determination in remote border areas.
Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Kiana Duncan and Mike Firn.