Burma coup resistance notes March 30, 2024
Kachin army romping over the junta; Karen forces liberate Papun; fighting resumes in northern Shan; junta on a kidnapping binge of young people to send to the front lines.
Kachin-------------------
The Kachin army’s roll continued with more captured junta camps, culminating the week with the capture of the border crossing in Lwejei town.
By March 23 all the junta bases near the free Kachin capital Laiza had been cleared out. That brought the total of junta camps taken during Operation 03/07 to almost 50. (The Irrawaddy E 3/23) The Kachin army now controls nearly the whole north-south road between the key towns of Banmaw and Myitkyina, including all the former junta camps in southern Momauk Township. (The 74 Media, People's Spring 3/26)
Junta troops abandoned 3 camps in Mansi Township on March 23. On March 26 the Kachin army captured 2 battalion camps in Momauk Township and seven smaller ones, a total of 9 junta camps in one day.
The Kachin army then switched focus to the west-east Banmaw-Lwejei road leading to the China border crossing. It attacked 7 camps on that road simultaneously on March 27, capturing 4 of them the same day and 2 more the next. Two junta howitzer shells exploded inside China on March 27, near the Lwejei border crossing. Beijing protested in writing to Naypyitaw. On March 28 the Kachin captured those howitzer guns. (Khit Thit Media 3/27, The 74 Media, People's Spring 3/28) On March 29 the Kachin cleared away the junta all the way to the border and took the Lwejei border crossing and surrounded the last remaining junta base. Some junta troops escaped into China, but then the Chinese closed the border, trapping them. (Khit Thit Media 3/29)
Kawthoolei-------------------
Coalition forces led by the Karen army Brigade 5 liberated Papun town, the capital of Mutraw District, as of March 27 evening. Junta troops and police from the town retreated to a hilltop camp at the south edge of town. The Karen-led coalition has surrounded them and is training drone, mortar, and sniper fire to wear them down. The coalition includes Karenni and Burmese liberation units as well as some from other Karen army brigades. (Salween Press, The Irrawaddy B, Karen Information Center, Myanmar Now, local sources 3/28) That would make Papun the second fully-liberated Karen town after Kyaikdon; Kaw T’Ree and Xrotherpler (3 pagodas) are mostly liberated.
Karen-led forces stormed a junta camp at Yinkwedaung, on a back road between Pa’an and Kaw T’Ree, on March 23. The main roads leading to the Myawaddy border town are under Karen control, so the junta has been using these back roads. Now the Karen are attacking this road too. Some weapons were captured. The camp is in Karen Brigade 7 territory, Nabu Township, though the reports don’t say which Karen units were involved. (Karen Information Center 3/23) Brigade 7 has done almost no fighting since the attempted coup.
A coalition of the Karen army and Mon NMSP-AD forces attacked a junta police barracks at Kawbayn for 2 days and finally took it over on March 25. Twenty-three junta troops and police surrendered as well as 18 family members, including the police chief and camp commander, and their weapons were captured. Kawbayn is halfway between Mawlamyaing and Kruh Tu in northern Dooplaya District. (Than Lwin Khet News 3/25)
A local Karen PDF attacked and overcame a junta communications camp in Bokpyin Township of Beit-Tavoy District on March 22. The 30 junta troops there fled during the attack. The PDF captured rifles, mortar rounds and a launcher, grenades, and ammunition. For a small amateur Revolutionary group, the captured weapons make for a significant equipment upgrade. (People's Spring 3/23) In northern Beit-Tavoy District, the Karen army and local PDFs cleared out a pro-junta Pyu Saw Htee terrorist camp in Thayetchaung Township on March 19. (Network Media Group 3/20)
Karen army units in Kaw T’Ree town (Kawkareik) attacked 3 of the remaining junta positions in the town on March 25, killing 15 troops. Four defense soldiers were also killed. The Karen hold most of the town and have been trying since late 2023 to expel the last junta holdouts. (Khit Thit Media 3/26)
A prize-winning poet and former student leader from Irrawaddy Region, 30-year-old Ko Aung Khant Zaw, popularly known as Ko Japan, was killed in combat on March 22. He had become a Karen army soldier and fell during a battle somewhere in Kawthoolei. (People's Spring 3/23)
The Karen BGF, itself a split-off from the Karen army (KNLA) during the 1990s, and which recently separated from the junta, is now fracturing further. While the main BGF group renamed itself “KNA”, some elements of it are refusing that transition and continuing to collaborate with the terrorist Naypyitaw regime. (Salween Press 3/29)
Arakan-----------------
For the first time, the Arakan Army was reported fighting in Magway Region, as combat spilled over from Am Township in adjacent Arakan State. Four junta soldiers out of 40 were killed and 8 wounded in a clash in Ngape Township on March 26. Two days later 6 junta troops were killed and 10 wounded in another fight in the same general area. The AA captured some weapons. (Khit Thit Media 3/29) The AA is also fighting in Kachin State and northern Shan State alongside the ethnic armies there, and of course in Arakan State.
The Ngape clashes were preceded by one nearby in Am Township on March 26, in which the AA killed an estimated 15 troops and wounded a similar number, it says. (Mizzima 3/29) The junta’s western command center is located in Am Township.
The AA went on seizing junta camps this week, taking one in Maungdaw Township on March 24 and continuing with attacks on the last remaining camps in that northernmost township. At least 30 dead junta troops were found and a quantity of weapons. The AA then chased the surviving troops who fled the camp, capturing about 100 of them on March 25. (People's Spring 3/25, Khit Thit Media 3/26)
On March 26 the AA occupied a major junta battalion base in Buthidaung Township after a month-long siege. The AA captured live troops and dead junta bodies along with weapons and ammunition. Some of the troops fled and are being hunted down. (Khit Thit Media 3/26)
Of the approximately 50 junta troops who fled the battle of Ponnajun without surrendering on March 4, the AA hunted them afterward. They requested artillery support from the junta army and navy, and that bombing set fire to a field of grass the troops were in. At least 20 were found dead and burned on March 28, including two commanders. Video at https://t.me/khitthitnews/170168 (Khit Thit Media 3/30)
Mon-------------------
Mon Revolutionary groups used drones to attack the Mawlamyaing airport on March 24, damaging the runway. (Karen Information Center 3/26) How the drones evaded jamming isn’t clear.
A coalition of Mon and other PDFs cleared out a junta/Pyu Saw Htee camp in Ye Township of southern Mon State on March 23. The camp housed about 70 troops and Pyu Saw Htee terrorists, at least 10 of whom were killed in the assault. A PDF soldier also died and 2 were wounded. The junta operatives had been raiding villages and extorting money from travelers on the road. (Salween Press 3/24)
Karenni-------------------
Karenni defense forces intercepted a junta reinforcement column from Bawlakhe that was attempting to reach Hpasaung. Sixteen troops were killed and another 15 wounded including a commander, and one was captured alive. The Karenni also seized weapons. The convoy did not reach Hpasaung. (NUG Ministry of Defense 3/23)
Northern Shan-------------------
After 2.5 months of relative quiet following the Chinese meddling that halted the relentless advance of the Brotherhood Alliance, fighting has started again in northern Shan. Junta troops based in Lashio strayed into Kokang-controlled territory, provoking a battle with Kokang forces on March 26. The junta fired mortars all day. During the Chinese “ceasefire”, the junta has been rebuilding its remaining forces in the area in preparation to attempt the recapture of lost territory. (Ayeyarwaddy Times 3/26)
Kokang and northern Shan SSPP forces clashed with each other March 26-27 in Theinwi Township. No casualties are reported, and the SSPP, which has participated only occasionally in the Spring Revolution, said the two parties would seek to resolve differences through dialog.
People’s Defense Forces (PDFs)-----------------
A PDF coalition in Yesajo Township of Magway Region began a campaign to liberate Yesajo town on March 24, attacking 4 junta positions in the town simultaneously with drones and mortars followed by a ground assault. They were able to capture 2 of them including a camp in a monastery campus, killing 7 junta troops and wounding 8 and capturing some weapons. (Myaelatt Athan 3/25)
In Kantbalu Township of northern Sagaing Region PDFs captured a junta communications camp at Zin village on March 23, killing 8 troops and capturing 4 alive. The rest retreated, and a jet came to bomb.
PDFs in Otpo Township of Bago Region attacked junta troops camped in a monastery on March 27, killing 10 of them and wounding 6. (Khit Thit Media 3/28) In Mandalay Region, PDFs laid landmines in a village in Nganzon Township where junta troops were carrying out a terrorist raid, March 23-25, and killed 11 of the troops. (Khit Thit Media 3/26)
PDFs sacked the government offices in Palay town in southern Sagaing Region on March 27, and also assaulted the police barracks. Eight junta troops were killed in the process and 5 wounded. (Khit Thit Media 3/29)
In a video made public, a PDF in Pakokku Township of Magway Region blasted a truck filled with 33 junta troops on March 28, utterly demolishing it and killing 11 of the troops and wounding 19. (The Irrawaddy 3/29)
Video of the destruction of a junta troop transport truck by PDF roadside bombs in Pakokku Township of Magway Region. (The Irrawaddy 3/29)
Urban warfare------------------
The death toll from the March 22 bombing of a junta golf course in Yangon rose to 28 people, including some senior officers. Urban guerrillas posing as police planted a bomb, then left and detonated it remotely. (Ayeyarwaddy Times 3/23)
Another Yangon urban guerrilla bombing the night of March 29 targeted junta air force housing at the Mingaladon air base (adjacent to the international airport) with 3 large blasts. Ambulances came, but the casualties aren’t reported. (Khit Thit Media 3/30)
Junta decline------------------
Junta administrators at the ward and village level are resigning en masse in many areas, including Pa’an District of Kawthoolei, which is mostly under junta control. The reason for their resignation is that they are expected to enlist youths for the junta’s mandatory military conscription, which is getting junta administrators killed by anti-coup assassins. The youths are fleeing to Thailand or joining People’s Defense Forces or militia splinter groups like the DKBA and PC. (Karen Information Center 3/23)
Likewise in Munaung Township of Arakan State, 41 local junta administrators resigned rather than provide lists of young people for conscription. There were also resignations in Sanchaung Township of Yangon. (The Irrawaddy B 3/25)
The junta leadership continued shuffling its generals in response to massive battlefield losses. This week it replaced the commanders in charge of Arakan State, Karen State, and Mon State. (The Irrawaddy E 3/25)
Four junta troops including a captain defected to local defense forces in Pakokku Township of Magway Region on March 22. They were part of a convoy of about 100 trucks leaving Pakokku to reinforce and resupply junta positions in Yaw Township of Magway Region and others in southern Chin State such as Mindat. Local PDFs and Chin forces have already begun drone-bombing the convoy. This is the first large convoy going to Chin since last September, 6 months ago. (People's Spring 3/25)
A military helicopter from the Meiktila air base crashed due to mechanical causes near the base on March 26. (Khit Thit Media 3/26)
Terrorism--------------------
Jets continued bombing civilian targets. They destroyed hospitals in Myebon Township of Arakan State and killed villagers in Mutraw District of Kawthoolei, among other places. (Mizzima, local sources 3/27) After Mon and Karen forces captured a junta police barracks in Kawbayn in Kawthoolei’s Dooplaya District, jets and warships destroyed over 300 civilian homes in the nearby riverside community of Dhamma Tha on March 29. (People's Spring 3/29)
Ko Win Thiha, a political prisoner held in Tavoy prison in Kawthoolei Beit-Tavoy District, was taken out of jail and killed by the junta on March 23. Another political prisoner is missing.
The news is full of stories about abduction of young people to send for forced military recruitment. It includes both those who were selected in the conscription lottery and others who were not. Some are parents; some are in ill health. They are dragged from their homes and kidnapped in public places. Some have already been killed in battle, which is not surprising given that they have no military experience and almost no training at all, and are sent to face battle-hardened ethnic armies and PDFs. More than 100 forcefully-conscripted Rohingya men are already dead, fighting for a regime they never supported. (Ayeyarwaddy Times and other sources 3/29)
As an illustration, junta troops at a road checkpoint in Sagaing Township stopped about 50 people returning from work the evening of March 29, and demanded half a million kyats (US$135) from each, an exorbitant sum for working families. About 30 of the detainees or their families paid, the other 20 were hauled off to forced military recruitment. They had not been selected in the lottery. (Khit Thit Media 3/30) Such kidnappings have scared away the workforces of factories and other businesses, halting economic activity.
The junta sent letters to 30 young men in Monywa town ordering them to come for pre-conscription medical check-ups on March 27. None came. Junta operatives then went to their homes and kidnapped 16 of them that they found there. (The Irrawaddy E 3/29)
Political and economic-------------------
USA foreign ministry official Derek Chollet met recently in Washington with representatives of the Karen, Kachin, Karenni, and Chin ethnic homeland governments (KNU, KIO, KNPP, & CNF/K3C respectively) to discuss international aid to Burma’s federal democracy movement. (Khit Thit Media 3/30) The Chinese ambassador, meanwhile, met with two top junta generals in Naypyitaw on March 28. (The Irrawaddy E 3/29)
The USA government approved a fiscal 2024 budget that includes $121 million for aid to Burma. The money is to be used for non-weapons assistance to refugees inside Burma, to ethnic homeland governments fighting the junta, and pro-democracy advocacy groups. (Mizzima 3/25)
The new liberation government of Arakan State is inviting foreign investment. (Khit Thit Media 3/25) This is an act of a sovereign government. The most likely investors would be from India, which has a longstanding project to build a transit corridor from northeast India to the port of Sittwe.
The UN is still legitimizing the shrinking illegal regime in Naypyitaw as if it were a national government. The head of the UN Office for Coordination of Hamanitarian Assistance (UNOCHA), Sajjad Mohammad Sajid, went to Naypyitaw and rewarded dictator Min Aung Hlaing with a publicity photo-op as he paid homage to the junta. This happened March 26, a day after Thailand handed over several truckloads of food and medicine to the junta at the Myawaddy border crossing, labeled as aid for refugees. (The Irrawaddy E 3/26) The aid can only reach refugees in the shrinking junta-controlled areas.
The Kawthoolei government (KNU) said the humanitarian crisis in Burma is man-made by the junta’s violence, which causes displacement and extraordinary need. So, for the junta to receive foreign aid for refugees is to profit from the crisis it has created, and for Thailand to provide that aid is to aid and abet the violence. Aid donated by Thailand is currently being distributed in junta-controlled areas of Karen State, which the regime is milking for maximum propaganda value, at the same moment that jets are bombing villages in adjacent areas. (People's Spring 3/27)
The Burmese junta and officials of the Putin regime from Moscow have been exchanging gifts and medals, symbolic tributes of admiration between two teams of losers. (The Irrawaddy E 3/30)
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