Burma coup resistance notes December 15, 2022
Destroying the food supply to cause famine; major train sabotage; junta officers mutiny in Kawthoolei.
Yesterday a mutiny occurred among junta troops stationed in Mutraw District of Kawthoolei (Hpapun township on Burmese maps). A general in a rear command headquarters ordered an infantry battalion to advance to Mae Wei camp, which is surrounded by the Karen army. Three commanding officers of the battalion refused the order. The headquarters then sent other troops and arrested the three insubordinate officers. (Ayeyarwaddy Times) Soldiers facing the Karen army have refused orders before, but this is the first known instance of officers disobeying generals.
Ethnic regions-------------------
In Doo Tha Htoo District of Kawthoolei (Bilin township on Burmese maps), a junta freight train carrying ammunition and weapons from Yangon to Mawlamyaing was blown off the tracks as it crossed a bridge at Kaligyun, near Thaton, the night of Dec. 13. Multiple carriages were destroyed and/or dumped. A Karen army Brigade 1 official says about 20 junta troops out of 40 were killed in the explosions. Today, all trains to Mawlamyaing have been canceled, as the tracks are distorted by the explosions and still blocked by destroyed carriages.
Last night the Karen army continued its attack near Nyaungtauk in Bilin township. (Chindwin News Agency, People’s Spring)
In Beit-Tavoy District of Kawthoolei (Tanintharyi Region on Burmese maps), PDF stormed a junta camp yesterday at Padat village in Thayetchaung township, causing the troops and Pyu Saw Htee lackeys to flee. The PDFs cleared out the camp and captured a number of weapons. The junta’s retaliation isn’t known yet. (Mizzima)
In Kler Lwi Htoo District of Kawthoolei (Shwejin township on Burmese maps) there Karen army Brigade 3 attacked about 100 junta troops near Laympinweh village today for an hour. The troops are now retaliating against local civilians. (Khit Thit Media)
In Mutraw District of Kawthoolei, junta troops were sent to reinforce an occupation camp at Lei Toh, causing a battle with Karen army Brigade 5. Junta proxy BGF troops then attacked nearby civilians in Lei Waw Deh village, specifically their food supply, burning 3 granaries holding the year’s paddy (rice) supply. (Salween Press)
In Hakha, capital of Chin State, 3 junta soldiers and a policeman defected to the Chin defense forces with full weapons and bullet-proof vests. They have received large cash bonuses and sheltered in a liberated area. (Mizzima)
Junta scorched earth village terrorism campaign---------------
Junta troops are forcing residents of Yaw village in Kantbalu township, Sagaing Region to undergo training as pro-junta Pyu Saw Htee terrorists, whose job will be to destroy other villages. Both men and women are conscripted. Some residents fled. Yesterday PDFs came to their support, firing locally-manufactured mortars and dropping drone bombs on the junta/Pyu Saw Htee terrorists. Casualties aren’t known.
In Shwebo township, Pyu Saw Htee terrorists are extorting 100,000 kyats (around US$30) from farmers for the right to harvest their own rice crops. They shoot farmers who don’t pay. In other fields, the Pyu Saw Htee are pirating harvester combine tractors from an agricultural training institute and using them to steal the rice crop right out of the fields. (Ayeyarwaddy Times) These are two more examples of attacks on the food supply.
Troops are burning Mujinsu and Thagaya villages of Tantse township, Sagaing Region today. (Khit Thit Media) Meanwhile in Ye Oo township, troops destroyed a historic Christian temple and a school in Chanthah village yesterday and burned the community for the 3rd time. They beheaded a local man. Only about 10 houses now remain. Some of those burned this time were temporary structures rebuilt after earlier attacks. During the last attack, troops threatened the Catholic members of the community to leave permanently or be killed. (Myaelatt Athan)
People’s Defense Forces (PDFs)-----------------
In Sagaing Region, 4 junta police who left their barracks in Myinmu town this morning to go to a tea shop were blown up and killed by a landmine outside the barracks. (People's Spring)
A report came out yesterday about a battle in Kyauk Pu Kone village in Myaung township on Dec. 12, in which the PDFs opened fire and drove junta troops into a defensive position where the PDFs had prepared landmines. Eleven junta troops were killed. (Khit Thit Media)
A PDF attack on a junta village terrorism squad in Shwebo township killed an unknown number of junta troops, and the PDFs captured some junta weapons.
A PDF in Myinmu township drone-bombed junta troops occupying a temple in Allakappa village yesterday, killing 4 of them and seriously wounding 3. (Khit Thit Media)
Two PDFs announced yesterday that they had tried to attack a junta/Pyu Saw Htee terrorist camp in Palay township at Inmatee on Dec. 9, and suffered 13 injuries due to running into a minefield. One of the injured is serious. The attack was called off. (Myaelatt Athan)
In Mandalay Region, PDFs attacked a 4-vehicle junta convoy today as the troops were returning from an assault on a village in Maddaya township, blowing up one of the trucks that was carrying about 10 troops. Details of the casualties aren’t reported. (Mizzima)
Urban warfare------------------
In Yangon, a bombs exploded near a junta infantry battalion camp in South Dagon township last night. Casualties aren’t known. Nearby, another bomb hit a junta patrol around the same time, wounding 2 troops seriously. (Khit Thit Media) In the past week junta troops have rounded up 40 youth on suspicion of urban guerrilla activity; some of them actually have been involved. A report says that money shortage forces some of them to live together, making it easy for the junta to raid their safe houses. An urban guerrilla representative urges the public to support the freedom fighters so that they don’t have to compromise their security. (People's Spring) In any case, the ongoing explosions and assassinations show that the junta abductions haven’t stopped urban guerrilla activity.
-စီၤ ထံဆၢ