Burma coup resistance notes June 22, 2024
Chin forces take Matupi town; junta tries to re-invade Loikaw; troops murder a senior monk; junta economic bungling causes food shortages.
Chin-------------------
Chin forces continued their liberation of Matupi with the capture of a major junta base overlooking the town on June 17. It was the first command base under the junta’s northwest HQ to fall, and the Chin captured howitzer artillery, 120mm mortars, rifles, ammunition, Burmese soldiers, and many other weapons. They then turned their attention to another battalion camp near the town, where the fighting remains intense. On June 13 the Chin had captured the town’s police barracks and administrative compound. (Myanmar Now 6/18) Matupi Township borders on Paletwa Township to the south, which was already liberated by the Arakan Army, so its capture will expand a large zone completely free of junta presence.
In Mindat Township junta troops abandoned and destroyed their camp in a village and retreated to the town on June 19. (Zalen News 6/22)
On the other hand, on June 18 a column of 100 junta troops recaptured its old camp on the summit of Mt. Kennedy in Chin State, which had been liberated by the Zoland PDF last November. (People's Spring 6/18) This incursion is likely to be short-lasting. Also, on June 20 another column of 100 junta troops recaptured one of 3 of the camps it lost to Chin forces at Thaingin in Titain Township on June 16. The Chin retreated strategically to await the redeployment of those enemy troops in order to return. (People's Spring 6/21)
Chin defense forces in Mindat received a shipment of at least 97 military automatic rifles with which to accelerate the campaign to liberate Chin towns and cities. The source of the weapons isn’t named, but the most likely source is the Arakan Army. (Chindwin News Agency 6/16)
Karenni-------------------
The junta’s major push into northern Karenniland proceeded this week with at least 4 attacks around Loikaw and Mobye by a column of 500 troops from Sisaing in Shan State. These attacks came through villages, attempting to arrive in downtown Loikaw and Mobye, which are still partially held by Karenni defense forces. Another column tried to invade Pekhon Township from Pinlaung to the north. Karenni forces counter-attacked the junta advances and shot down a junta drone. Casualty figures aren’t available. (People's Spring 6/16) The junta is attempting to reverse some of its losses from the Karenni Operation 11/11 campaign that captured most of Loikaw and several other cities.
This junta offensive mirrors the armored convoy in Kawthoolei that set out in April to reach Myawaddy to undo some of the junta’s losses in Dooplaya District. That convoy is still bogged down outside Kaw T’Ree town (Kawkareik) without achieving its objective. A similar effort appears to be in preparation in northern Shan State, and another one last year in Kachin State utterly failed and the Kachin have been pushing the junta out of an ever-expanding area. No effective response has been mounted to the junta’s loss of 2/3 of Arakan State, and the Chin are capturing a growing list of towns.
Kawthoolei-------------------
Karen army Brigade 4 and allied PDFs kept up an attack on a longstanding junta battalion camp at Weh Htoo Ye in Lei Mu Lah (Tanintharyi) Township, Beit-Tavoy District for 2 months. On June 14 the Karen finally stormed the camp, killing 17 of the approximately 50 junta troops there; the rest ran away. The Karen captured all the weapons, including 120 mm mortars. The junta responded by bombing a hospital, killing a nurse and another woman. (KNU 6/15)
The next day, 30 or more junta troops at another camp 25 km away at Chaukji also ran away on June 15. These two camps were the eastern outposts of the junta’s 285th infantry battalion occupying Palaw Township. (Salween Times 6/19)
Also in Beit-Tavoy District, a senior junta commander was killed by a PDF drone bomb in Ye Phyu Township on June 14. (People's Spring 6/15)
A battle broke out all day in Ye Phyu Township north of Tavoy on June 19, involving mostly Mon ethnic militias and the Dawna Column vs. junta troops. At least 30 junta troops were killed and others wounded, while 4 PDF soldiers were also wounded. Jets dropped 10 bombs and the junta troops attacked a village and burned 70 homes. The Dawna commander commented that the junta troops appeared to be on drugs, moving forward without fear but ineffectually, despite their losses. Four hundred junta troops are attempting to regain control of national highway 8 between Mawlamyaing and Tavoy. (Salween Times 6/20)
And in Tavoy Township, junta troops looting a village were ambushed by local PDFs on June 14. Three soldiers were killed. A second attack the next day killed 8 more. (Khit Thit Media 6/16)
To the north in Dooplaya District, the Karen army and the NUG Special Operations Group seized a junta camp at Sukali, 75 km south of Myawaddy city near the Thai border, on June 18. The 50 or so junta troops who were in the camp fled and are being pursued by the Karen forces, which are also searching for hidden ammunition stores in the ground. (Karen Information Center 6/19)
The junta’s Aung Zeya armored convoy remains stalled near the Taw Naw waterfall just east of Kaw T’Ree town. It shows no sign of ever reaching Myawaddy. Junta soldiers who defected to the Karen side in May say that 400 of the convoy’s troops have been wounded. The last attempt to advance on June 3 resulted in junta deaths. Since that time the junta is only firing mortar and artillery shells and sending new trainees from its forced conscription campaign. These trainees have no war experience and only pretend to march forward without actually advancing, according to Karen army sources. (People's Spring 6/19)
Karen-alligned PDFs simultaneously attacked 3 junta positions in Kler Lwi Htoo District on June 19, killing a total of 10 troops. (Khit Thit Media 6/20)
Meanwhile, the Dooplaya border town of Xrotherpler (3 pagodas), which was thought to be largely liberated, is actually under junta and BGF control now. These forces closed the border crossing starting June 17, forcing cross-border trade to detour through clandestine border crossings. (Mizzima 6/22)
Kachin-------------------
After clearing most of the junta positions in Waingmaw Township, the Kachin army has begun the liberation of Waingmaw town, which is just across the Irrawaddy River from Myitkyina, the state capital. During 2 days of fierce fighting June 18-19, 12 junta troops were killed in the northern side of the town, including a major. (People's Spring 6/19)
Junta troops based in Banmaw city in southern Kachin State have been trying to break out of the Kachin army blockade to go reinforce defeated junta forces in Waingmaw Township, but the Kachin have kept them contained. On June 16 the Kachin disabled a junta armored vehicle. (Kachin News Group 6/17)
While all this is going on, the Kachin army and allied PDFs opened up another front on June 22, attacking 5 junta camps simultaneously in Monyin and Hpakant Townships. Fighting is still ongoing, and jets are conducting airstrikes. (Khit Thit Media 6/22)
Arakan-------------------
While maintaining its two offensives in Maungdaw and Thandwe Townships, the Arakan Army also launched an assault on the southern township of Taungup on June 15. The junta destroyed a bridge leading to the town from Pyay Township in Bago Region to the east. (Mizzima 6/16) The AA also intercepted a junta column of 100 troops near the Danyawaddy naval base in Kyauk Phyu Township on June 16, killing about 10 of them. (Myanmar Now 6/18)
The Arakan Army warned civilians on June 16 that it was about to mount the final attack to take Maungdaw town, and thus capture all of the township and all of northern Arakan State.
People’s Defense Forces (PDFs)-----------------
PDFs laid mines ahead of a junta terrorist column that was attacking villages in Natmauk Township of Magway Region on June 14. Fifteen out of the 80 troops were killed by mines, and 2 more died while extracting the wounded. The report speaks of many wounded, but no figure is given. (Khit Thit Media 6/15)
Another running battle occurred in Bago Region, this time from June 12 to 15 in Theyawaddy District. A column of 90 junta troops invaded villages and attacked a PDF camp. The PDFs engaged the troops each day, killing 18 and wounding 10, some seriously. A PDF soldier also died and one was wounded. The PDF camp was destroyed, but because of advance notice, not much was lost besides huts. (Khit Thit Media 6/17)
In Htee Lin Township of Sagaing Region, junta troops abandoned and burned 2 of their camps and retreated to Htee Lin town on June 15 and 19. In Htee Lin, and also in Gangaw and Saw Townships of Magway Region, junta troops are encircled by PDF forces and are having to be resupplied by air drops. They are digging drone-proof bunkers. (Khit Thit Media 6/22)
Junta decline------------------
A military plane crashed near the Meiktila airbase on June 22. The type of plane hasn’t been named yet. (Khit Thit Media 6/22)
The Burma Fascism and Nationalism Watch published statistics from the first 5 months of 2024: 2070 battles, 218 junta positions captured by the resistance. Of those positions, 103 were in Kachin State, 63 in Arakan State; the Kachin captured 58 positions in March alone. Junta casualties included 2,869 killed, 2,813 wounded, 4,703 captured, 4,101 surrendered. On the resistance side, 405 soldiers were killed and 903 wounded. The junta carried out 1,932 airstrikes, killed 1,053 civilians and injured 2,679. The number of internal refugees reached 3.2 million, of which 1.3 million in Sagaing, 380,000 in Bago, 320,000 in Karen State, 230,000+ in Karenni, 200,000 in Shan State, 170,000 in Magway, 150,000 in Chin State, and 100,000 in Beit-Tavoy District of Kawthoolei. (Tanintharyi Times 6/17)
Like the forced military conscription, the ban on virtual private networks (VPNs) is mainly turning into a big extortion opportunity for police and troops. They are stopping motorists, inspecting phones, and instead of abducting those found with VPNs, they are demanding large bribes. This is similar to families paying fat sums to exempt their sons from the military draft. The junta fined 9 telecommunications companies for not effectively banning VPNs and social media. Chinese surveillance technicians are assisting the junta with the anti-VPN campaign. (Khit Thit Media 6/16)
As examples of what is happening broadly across the junta-occupied parts of Burma, a retired officer who was conducting the forced military recruitment campaign was assassinated in Sinku Township of Mandalay Region, as was a newly-appointed junta administrator in Pauk Kaung Township of Bago Region. The latter had just replaced another assassinated administrator. (People's Spring 6/16) A junta policeman and a Pyu Saw Htee terrorist were shot dead at a road checkpoint where they were extorting travelers in Nganzon Township of Mandalay Region on June 18. (Khit Thit Media 6/20) The elimination of junta operatives scrambles its administrative capacity and protects the lives of citizens from kidnapping, torture, and death.
Disappointed with the numbers of men it has been able to force into its military, the junta is now preparing to seize women as well.
Three junta soldiers were jailed for selling 7,000 rounds of AK-47 ammunition to PDFs in Gangaw Township of Magway Region on June 12. Two of them, both women, were then hospitalized due to brutal beatings. The watermelon source said that amount of ammunition corresponded to as many as 14 soldiers’ allotments, and that soldiers sell weapons and ammunition because their salaries aren’t sufficient to live on, especially with the currency devalued by the junta’s economic mismanagement. (Khit Thit Media 6/16)
Terrorism--------------------
Jets dropped 500-pound bombs on a school in a liberated area in Junhla Township of northern Sagaing Region on June 15. In this case there was no one in the school at the time. (People's Spring 6/16)
A revered senior Buddhist cleric, Ashin Munindra, was shot to death by junta troops on June 19 while traveling in a vehicle near Mandalay. In its propaganda, the regime then blamed PDFs for the murder, but the evidence is clear. (NUG Ministry of Defense 6/20) The religious establishment in Burma has reacted vehemently against the junta for the murder.
Junta troops and their local PNO lackeys are extorting half a million kyats (US$110) from each household at gunpoint in Sisaing Township of southern Shan State, where they recently retook control from the ethnic Pa-O PNLO army. (Shwe Phee Myay 6/22)
Political and economic-------------------
The National Unity Government is recruiting teachers who participated in the Civil Disobedience Movement to staff its rapidly expanding schools network in Bago Region and elsewhere.
The military regime’s economic mismanagement is again causing shortages of key commodities such as rice and cooking oil. Consumers have to wait in long queues to buy oil, and when they do, the regime requires sellers to collect personal data on the buyers, including names, phone numbers, even fingerprints, and family members living with them. The likelihood is that the information is used in the forced military recruitment campaign. The junta announced a set of fixed prices for various commodities which are far below market prices. The market price of oil has rising to over 15,000 kyats per liter locally, but the junta mandates that it be sold for 5,800, and stocks quickly sell out. Prices of rice are also soaring due to shortage. The regime’s response is typical – kidnap food sellers and imprison them. (Mizzima 6/20, The Irrawaddy E 6/22)
A farmers’ union says about half of the paddy fields in Arakan State couldn’t be planted this rainy season due to fighting, displacement, and junta blockades. That portends a 50% drop in rice production, and consequent hunger starting at harvest time in September. (The Irrawaddy E 6/17)
June 19 was the 79th birthday of Daw Aung Suu Kyi, Burma’s elected head of state who has been illegally imprisoned by the Naypyitaw junta since the attempted coup on Feb. 1, 2021. Her supporters celebrated by wearing flowers and holding rallies, both inside Burma and in international cities like Seoul and New York. Like last year, florists and women who wore flowers on June 19 were kidnapped and jailed by the junta. (Mizzima 6/19)
-စီၤ ထံဆၢ