Eight Myanmar junta personnel killed in PDF attack on checkpoint in Myingyan Township

Mizzima

At least eight members of the military junta, including a village administrator, were killed and several others injured when People’s Defence Force (PDF) groups launched an attack on a checkpoint operated by junta troops and Pyu Saw Htee militias in Lae Thit village, Myingyan township, Mandalay Region, according to a statement released on 5 November by the Zero Guerrilla Force of Myingyan District Battalion 7.

The clash occurred at around 2 pm on 4 November and lasted about 20 minutes, said Ko Thet Gyi, the leader of the Zero Guerrilla Force.

“We were in face-to-face combat, and two or three of them were killed instantly. Then, they ran into a bunker in disorder. One of our fighters fired an RPG, which hit the bunker directly and nobody was able to move,” he said.

Thet Gyi added that although PDF fighters tried to collect weapons after the attack, they were forced to retreat when they learned that three junta trucks carrying reinforcements from the nearby Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 15 were approaching.

About 50 junta personnel, including Pyu Saw Htee militia members, police, and soldiers, were normally stationed at the Lae Thit village checkpoint, but only around 20 were present during the attack. One of the dead was identified as Ko Min, also known as Ngamin, the local village administrator who had served under the junta for several years, according to the Zero Guerrilla Force.

The group said eight junta personnel were killed, though the death toll could rise as several of the injured were in critical condition. Independent verification of the casualties has not yet been possible.