Burma coup resistance notes December 2, 2023
Revolution advances in more towns; the junta shrinks its footprint to defend its remaining positions; the junta becomes the largest weapons source for the Revolution forces.
Northern Shan-------------------
The Brotherhood Alliance scored a major victory on Nov. 25 when they captured the China border crossing gate in Muse, the #1 export-import entry point to China. They then fought to take control of the entrance gate to the city on the Burma side as well as the key highway junction at 105 Mile. (Khit Thit Media 11/26) The Brotherhood Alliance now controls nearly all the routes to China, starving the junta of a vital revenue source.
Another entire battalion has surrendered to the Kokang. The junta Light Infantry Battalion 125’s 272 troops and police based north of the border city of Laukkai negotiated for the safe surrender of themselves and family members, then raised a white flag on Nov. 28, and the Kokang took possession of its camp and weapons. Konkyan Township is now completely liberated. (People's Spring 11/29)
The junta’s attempt to send reinforcements into northern Shan State was intercepted along the Pyin Oo Lwin-Lashio road from the Brotherhood Alliance. Witnesses said at least 20 of the 100 troops were killed at Kyaukme on Nov. 28, and the Ta’ang army seized some junta armored vehicles. (The Irrawaddy 11/30) On Nov. 24 Revolution forces captured two junta camps along that road. (Khit Thit Media 11/26)
Kokang, Arakan, and Karenni forces joined to seize a junta base at Nantsula in Theinni Township on Nov. 24, where they captured 31 junta troops, an armored vehicle, and 2 howitzer artillery, and killed 16 troops. (Salween Press 11/26)
Chinese troops tear-gassed Myanmar war refugees who fled to the border for safety near Laukkai, forcing them back into the war zone on Nov. 25. (Shwe Phee Myay 11/25) This is an international war crime known as refoulement.
The Kokang ethnic army (MNDAA) received a donation of 500 million kyats (about US$140,000) from 5 Revolutionary organizations, including CDM medical, for providing humanitarian services for refugees in the large area now under Kokang control. (People's Spring 11/26)
The Kokang army (MNDAA) is being accused of forcefully recruiting over 200 civilians returning to their homes in Laukkai to become MNDAA soldiers. Kokang troops at road checkpoints are taking young men of Kokang or Ta’ang ethnicity and those who speak Chinese, as the Kokang do. Some of the detainees have escaped but many have are held not allowed to communicate with their families. (Shwe Phee Myay News 11/29)
The two main ethnic Shan militias, the northern SSPP and the southern RCSS, who are historically enemies, signed a ceasefire on Nov. 29. (Khit Thit Media 11/29) This may or may not turn out to have any relevance for the Spring Revolution. The RCSS has been a tacit but inactive ally of the junta, while the SSPP has fought sporadically against the junta but remained generally inert.
Chin------------------
Chin forces captured another town on Nov. 29 when 40 junta troops based in Rezwah town in Matupi Township surrendered. Jets carried out at least 10 airstrikes in retaliation. (Ayeyarwaddy Times 11/29)
Like the Karenni, the Chin forces are now fighting to take control of their state capital, Hakha. Seven junta troops were killed there in Chin attacks Nov. 26-27. Two historical rival Chin forces, the CDF and CNA, have joined forces for this fight. The Chin say they control more than 80% of their state now, and that the junta troops are so hemmed in that they can’t even get to all parts of the city, let alone the surrounding countryside. (People's Spring 11/28)
Karenni--------------------
The battle for Loikaw continued in the Karenni capital. Liberation forces control at least half of the city including downtown. On Nov. 25, 15 junta troops defected to the Karenni side in Loikaw. (Khit Thit Media 11/25) Then the junta tried to withdraw its remaining troops from Mese Township to reinforce Loikaw, leaving it with no presence in Mese Township. Along the way Karenni forces ambushed the convoy before it could even reach Hpasaung, killing 20 troops and capturing one along with their weapons, and destroying vehicles. (People's Spring 11/29) Jets dropped at least 60 bombs on Loikaw, but a Karenni drone set off an explosion that destroyed the armory of one of the junta battalions in the town on Dec. 1. (People's Spring 12/1)
The Karenni State Police are charging 5 senior staff of Loikaw University with collaboration with junta war crimes. The remaining university staff, nearly 200 people, have been released. (Mekong News 11/29)
Kawthoolei--------------------
A battle is raging in and around Kaw T’Ree town (Kawkareik) in Dooplaya District since early on Dec. 1. More than 20 junta troops surrendered, but the rest are still fighting. Karen-led forces captured 3 camps including the one in Kaw Nwe, a village just east of the town. Jets are carrying out airstrikes and have killed at least 5 civilians so far. (Than Lwin Khet News 12/1)
Karen-led forces again attacked the junta and its BGF proxy militia in Kyaikmaraw Township of Dooplaya District on Nov. 28, killing 11 troops including a junta commander and a BGF commander, while four defected to the Karen side. Many weapons were captured. (People's Spring 11/29)
The Karen army and allied PDF from Brigade 3 went to Phyu town in East Bago Region and attacked 129 junta forces there on Nov. 30, killing 17 troops and wounding more than 20. The junta then attacked nearby civilian communities with jet bombing and helicopters. (Ayeyarwaddy Times 12/1) Western brigades of the Karen army have been operating outside of Kawthoolei in East Bago Region.
In Doo Tha Htoo District the junta abandoned a police station and a prison camp in Bilin Township on Nov. 24 and moved the forces to defend the township central HQ. There are no longer enough troops for everything. (Than Lwin Times 11/26)
The Kawthoolei government (KNU) issued a Nov. 17 warning for junta admin staff in Kaw T’Ree Township to leave by Nov. 24, and many of them did that, while others fled to KNU-controlled areas for safety. (People's Spring 11/25)
After the Karen army warned junta administrative employees to leave Myawaddy border town, many of them simply moved their activities to rented properties in outer wards of the town. They fear the Karen warning, but also junta reprisals if they leave their jobs. The Karen consider that these staff have ignored their warning and are liable for the consequences. (Karen Information Center 11/27)
Now Karen authorities are warning junta administrators to leave Waw Township, East Bago Region. The township is outside of Kawthoolei, but Karen army Brigade 1 has been active there. Over 40 junta administrators have already left due to the warning. (Myaelatt Athan 11/28)
Kachin-----------------
The Kachin army and allied PDFs attacked and captured a junta camp in Shweku Township on Dec. 1, gaining ammunition and equipment. (Kachin News Group 12/1)
People’s Defense Forces (PDFs)-----------------
Shwe Pyi Aye town fell to Revolution forces on Nov. 28 after a week-long battle involving the Kachin army and allied PDFs. The town is on the Chindwin River, a key junta supply route, in Homalin Township in northern Sagaing Region. It is now under civilian control. (People's Spring 11/28)
A fierce battle continues for control of Tantse town, where the last remaining junta forces are holed up in the police barracks and have suffered many casualties. PDFs keep having to pull back when helicopters arrive and fire, and the helicopters dropped reinforcements by air. The junta is firing mortars into the town. (Mandalay Free Press 11/29) Likewise in Htee Chaing, the multi-day battle for control of the town is still ongoing, with jet airstrikes and troops burning whole sections of town.
Chin and PDF forces attacked the junta’s main camp south of Kalay town at Yan Ji Aung on Nov. 21 and stormed it 2 days later, killing 16 junta troops and capturing 17 along with a lot of weapons. (People's Spring 11/28)
PDFs captured junta police barracks in villages of Wetlet and Kani Townships on Nov. 22-24, taking 16 junta prisoners including a camp commander. Three PDF soldiers died in the fighting. (People's Spring 11/25)
Two India border camps of the junta in Tamu Township were seized by PDF forces in battles Nov. 22-24 in Sagaing Region. There were junta fatalities and prisoners taken, but numbers aren’t available. Weapons were also captured. (Zalen News 11/28)
In Mandalay Region PDFs wiped out 8 junta troops at a road gate in Myinchan Township on Nov. 26, and then used roadside bombs to kill 3 more when troops came to the spot afterward. (Khit Thit Media 11/26)
A Revolutionary group in Shwebo Township of Sagaing Region attacked 4 junta/Pyu Saw Htee camps simultaneously on Nov. 25, while blocking the route of any reinforcements. It captured two of the camps. Twenty junta troops were killed, and the remaining troops fled. Afterward local residents gave a flower-laden victory reception to their PDF soldiers. (Mizzima 11/29) These camps had been bases for the junta’s village terrorist destruction campaign.
Urban warfare------------------
In Yangon Revolutionary groups are posting banners that say “See you soon in Yangon,” signaling an imminent drive to take the city, and they have raised black flags. On Nov. 29 an urban guerrilla group opened fire on a junta-owned bus station in Insein Township. Two nights before that multiple bombs exploded in different townships. (Khit Thit Media 11/29) On Dec. 1 a high-intensity bomb rocked the police station in Yankin Township of Yangon. (Khit Thit Media 12/1)
Junta decline------------------
The junta sent 11 police officers from the southern Shan airport in Heho to fight in the battle of Loikaw in Karenni State, but they abandoned their weapons and fled back to Heho, where they were arrested by the junta for desertion. They wanted to avoid dying in a hopeless battle, since they are police and not soldiers. This happened on Nov. 11 but was only revealed on Nov. 29. (Ayeyarwaddy Times 11/29)
Three senior junta commanders have been killed in battle recently, in Muse and Kyaukme in Shan State and in Kyaikmaraw in Kawthoolei. Another was captured alive in Kyaukme. (Khit Thit Media 11/28, Ayeyarwaddy Times 11/29)
Terrorism--------------------
Protesters against the illegal military regime held an informal rally at a market in North Dagon Township in Yangon on Nov. 25. Photos went viral on social media. The next day troops destroyed the market, smashing stalls and looting merchandise. (People's Spring 11/26)
Junta troops have invaded many schools across Yangon in anticipation of Revolution attacks. (People's Spring 11/26)
The village terrorism campaign has almost stopped as troops are now just worried about defending themselves. Through most of the war junta troops attacked civilian villages in Sagaing and Magway Regions, burning and looting houses and killing people who didn’t escape in time. Now the junta is losing control of more territory there every week and is just concerned about surviving in its remaining bunkers and barracks. (The IrrawaddyE 11/29)
On the other hand the junta has stepped up airstrikes on civilian communities, resulting in the deaths of hundreds, including children, especially in Ta’ang, Arakan, and Loikaw. The airstrikes have targeted schools, and international war crime, as well as other civilian targets like villages and residential neighborhoods of towns. (Myanmar Witness 11/30)
Junta troops occupying Bazun Myaung village in Kawthoolei’s Kler Lwi Htoo District have sold about 100 cows and buffalos belonging to village residents, and eaten the rest of the livestock. They have looted and sold furniture and other belongings from homes. Now they have taken down electricity wires and sold the copper for scrap. (Myaelatt Athan 11/29)
Political and economic-------------------
China’s military staged drills right on the Burma border starting Nov. 25 after a junta bombing destroyed more than 100 commercial trucks parked in Muse to do business with China. The junta had also organized protests against supposed Chinese support for Operation 10/27. (People's Spring 11/25) One of the few eventualities that could block the Spring Revolution from succeeding at this point is a Chinese invasion of Burma without any corresponding military assistance from democratic nations.
The Indonesian government made a false announcement on Nov. 24 regarding “talks” between “representatives of all stakeholders” in the Burma conflict, implying that Revolutionary forces would negotiate with the criminal Naypyitaw regime. The NUG as well as a number of civil society groups in Burma immediately debunked the claim, saying “There is no reason to talk to these war criminals…they will definitely be held accountable the crimes they committed.” (People's Spring 11/25)
A wave of the junta’s supporters can be anticipated showing up in Thailand and other regime-friendly countries as the former military’s grip continues to slip and areas that had been safe for them no longer are. There they will find themselves side by side with many thousands of regime opponents whom they drove out after the attempted coup in 2021.
-စီၤ ထံဆၢ