Burma coup resistance notes August 6, 2022
Ethnic regions-------------------
In Kawthoolei (Karen nation) Dooplaya District (Myawaddy township on Burmese maps), 4 junta troops including a corporal defected to the Karen army Cobra column yesterday. The four were members of the junta 44th infantry division, and the reasons they gave for defecting included receiving only one meal per day, never being allowed to visit home, and the heavy casualties inflicted by Karen forces during ground attacks and with drone bombs. Their commanders have been ordering them to advance southward on the Myawaddy-Waw Lay road for the past month, but they keep getting repulsed by Karen forces and have made no progress despite their heavy losses. During that month 10 junta troops have defected so far and 20 others are missing, possibly dead in the jungle or escaped to Thailand. (The Irrawaddy)
In Chin State, Chin defense forces clashed with junta troops in 3 places yesterday, including the Hakha-Htantalan road where the junta is struggling to rebuild a key bridge blown up by the Chin forces. Another battle took place on the road from Hakha to Gangaw in Magway Region. In all, 12 junta troops were killed and 8 wounded by Chin forces yesterday. (People's Spring)
In southern Chin State, junta troops fired machine guns at a civilian passenger boat full of primary school students crossing the Kaladan River on their way home from school in Paletwa township on Aug. 2, killing 2 children and wounding 2 others and a school employee. The junta and the Arakan army had been fighting earlier during the day, so the junta troops turned on the civilians.
Besides the boat shooting incident, the junta and Arakan army fought in 2 other locations in Paletwa township on Aug. 2. The tense stand-off between them is apparently breaking out into open warfare. (Mizzima) Meanwhile, the charred remains of 3 Chin defense fighters have been found after they went to find out the status of 30 villagers who had been kidnapped by junta troops from a Christian temple. (The Irrawaddy)
In Karenni State, Karenni defense forces counter-attacked a group of junta troops invading Demawso township, and seven of the troops were carried out on stretchers; it isn't known how many were dead or injured. The troops are occupying Hopeit and Dawposi villages. (People's Spring)
Junta scorched earth village terrorism campaign---------------
In eastern Depayin township of Sagaing Region, junta troops fired on Kainkan village with helicopters today and then invaded and burned it down, killing at least 3 civilians, after doing the same thing in Inpinyadin village yesterday.
People’s Defense Forces (PDFs)-----------------
In Kalay township of Sagaing Region, PDFs again attacked junta troops with roadside bombs yesterday, killing 20 troops in 2 bombing incidents. This is in addition to the 15 killed Aug. 3-4 in ground fighting south of Kalay town and 20 others killed by roadside bombs Aug. 4 on the road from Tamu to Kaya. (People's Spring) In Palay township a PDF landmine killed 5 junta/Pyu Saw Htee terrorists returning from an attack on a village yesterday. Other small-scale attacks around the area killed troops in the single digits in each case. In all, 38 junta troops were killed in PDF attacks in Sagaing and Magway Regions yesterday.
In Bago Region, a local junta administrator was assassinated yesterday in Tharawaddy township. (Myaelatt Athan)
Urban warfare------------------
In Yangon, more bombings occurred yesterday and overnight. There was a series of explosions in Insein and Mayangone townships yesterday.
In Mandalay, of the 21 urban guerrilla fighters rounded up by the junta on Aug. 1, 9 of them have already been murdered and their bodies dumped on the road. The likelihood is that the rest, including 4 women, will meet the same fate. Several of them were tricked into revealing themselves by a fake PDF Facebook page put up by the junta.
Urban guerrilla activity in Mandalay continues, however; a PDF blew up a junta checkpoint in Amarapura township yesterday, injuring 2 junta staff. On Aug. 4 someone opened fire on a downtown police station.(Khit Thit Media, Myaelatt Athan) Some political prisoners in Mandalay are on hunger strike over the murder by hanging of the 4 prominent pro-democracy activists on July 23. (The Irrawaddy)
In Monywa city, an urban PDF bombed a checkpoint at the entrance to the junta's northwest military command HQ yesterday, injuring 3 troops. It is the group's 2nd attack on that spot. (People's Spring)
Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM)-------------------
ASEAN has finally banned all Burma junta participation in meetings of the regional diplomatic forum due to non-compliance with its five-point directive on restoring civilian rights. The announcement was made by the Cambodian foreign minister, though the Cambodian military regime is actually friendly toward its Burmese counterpart. (Khit Thit Media) The ban is largely thanks to the efforts of Malaysian foreign minister Saifuddin Abdullah, who has shown himself to be a friend of Burma's popular resistance.
Acknowledging that its artificially-imposed exchange rate of 1,850 kyat to the US dollar was unrealistic, the junta yesterday raised the rate to the also-unrealistic 2,100 kyats to the dollar. The floating rate is now at 2,650 to 2,700 kyats to the dollar, so imports and exports are still blocked. (Mizzima)
The junta imprisoned famous actress Thinzar Wint Kyaw and model Nang Mwe San for “harming national culture” because of sexy, though not explicit publicity photos. They were not involved in resistance activities at all. They could be sentenced for 15 years, though their actual imprisonment will end when the coup does. (The Irrawaddy) The abductions are another indicator of how strict censorship is under the junta, and that it goes beyond just political expression.