Burma coup resistance notes November 25, 2022
Declining junta army goes on a desperate multi-front offensive
Ethnic regions-------------------
In Dooplaya District of Kawthoolei (Myawaddy township on Burmese maps) combat is continuing as junta troops keep trying to fight their way south along the Myawaddy-Waw Lay road, and keep getting repulsed by the Karen army and allied PDFs. There is a lack of clarity at this point as to the number of troops and casualties in the area. (Kawthoolei government KNU) The junta has shipped in 3 battalions from a division based in Yangon Region to replenish troops killed and wounded and those who have been deserting their units.
In Beit-Tavoy District of Kawthoolei (Tanintharyi Region on Burmese maps), about 100 junta troops and Pyu Saw Htee thugs have invaded Lei Thit village in Tanintharyi township, and are fighting with local PDFs there. The fight started this morning and no outcome is reported yet. (Mizzima)
In Kachin State, the Kachin army and allied PDFs launched drone attacks on junta troops yesterday in Kaungsan, Hpakant township, killing a battalion commander and an unknown number of other troops. The junta responded by firing mortars into nearby Thaung Kaw village, killing a civilian and wounding about 10 and destroying some houses. (People's Spring)
In northern Shan State, junta forces attacked a position of the northern Shan army, the SSPP today, southwest of Lashio town. At last news the battle was still ongoing and no outcome was evident. (People's Spring)
Junta army decline------------------
A junta captain captured by the Karen army Cobra battalion gave an interview about conditions in the junta army. He said the higher-level officers care nothing about troops killed in battle, as long as weapons aren’t lost. Soldiers are easily sacrificed in large numbers to capture territorial objectives. He said there is no trust between the lower and upper ranks, and the army doesn’t provide most of the food, the troops have to steal it or steal money to buy it, which is one reason they practice so much extortion on the public. He advised junta troops to leave the war. (People's Spring)
Two more junta troops have defected in recent days to Karen army Brigade 1 in Doo Tha Htoo District of Kawthoolei (Thaton township on Burmese maps). Over 10 have come over to Brigade 1 since September. In Chin State, a junta police officer used his weapon to shoot himself in Hpalam township today. (Ayeyarwaddy Times)
Despite the junta’s dwindling troop numbers, or perhaps because of them, it is currently on the offensive on multiple fronts simultaneously, attacking the Kachin and Karen armies, the northern Shan SSPP army, PDFs in Beit-Tavoy District, and as many civilian villages in central Burma as it can reach. As predicted in an earlier report, it has hollowed out its reserves in order to send every possible battalion to the front lines. This could be a desperate attempt to defeat its many enemies while it still has some troops left, or, as some analysts theorize, an intended preparation for the sham elections planned for 2023. Air strikes, the only powerful weapon the junta still has, are being used to the maximum, but terrorizing from the sky doesn’t equate to control on the ground, even if it helps stave off ground-level defeats in some cases. The current all-fronts offensive requires an unsustainable level of intensity; when it inevitably wanes, it will be seen which side is more depleted, and which way the momentum will turn.
Junta scorched earth village terrorism campaign---------------
Troops burned Wa In Chaing village in Htilin township, Magway Region yesterday. In Shwebo township of Sagaing Region, junta troops are wearing PDF uniforms that they captured in a raid of a PDF camp, and are burning down villages disguised as PDF soldiers. The Shwebo PDF announced that it will no longer use these uniforms, so anyone seen in them will be junta troops. (People's Spring) Troops burned and destroyed Muji village in Wetlet township yesterday, and an old woman who couldn’t escape was burned to death. Livestock were killed. (Khit Thit Media)
People’s Defense Forces (PDFs)-----------------
Six PDF soldiers are known to have died in the large counter-attack on junta terrorist troops burning villages in Khin Oo township 2 days ago Nov. 23, in which 40 junta troops were also killed. Most were killed by fire from Russian-supplied attack helicopters. (Khit Thit Media)
In Bago Region, a junta administrator in Thonsei town was assassinated yesterday. He had supported the coup and facilitated junta control in the town. (Khit Thit Media)
In Irrawaddy Region, one of the quietest, a PDF attacked a junta police station in Kanaung in Myan Aung township yesterday, using grenades and gunfire. Results aren’t reported. Meanwhile, junta troops have kidnapped 5 police wives in Irrawaddy Region on suspicion of supporting PDFs. Police members say there is no evidence, but the abductions have further exacerbated tense relations between the junta army and police, which occasionally erupt into shootings between them. (Ayeyarwaddy Times) After a bomb attack on junta troops in Hinthada town center, the troops retaliated against a Muslim cemetery, bulldozing graves and cutting down trees. Reports say the victims are dead. (People's Spring)
Political and economic-------------------
One of the hundreds of villages burned by junta terrorist gangs, Mone Hla in Khin Oo township of Sagaing Region, is the birthplace of Burma’s Catholic cardinal, Charles Maung Bo. A 7-year-old boy was killed in that assault, as was a people’s defense soldier. (The Irrawaddy) Cardinal Charles Maung Bo has accepted awards from, and been photographed celebrating with junta dictator Min Aung Hlaing. Nine villages of Khin Oo township have been destroyed in the past 10 days by junta terror gangs. (Khit Thit Media)
After the coup, junta troops abducted female sex workers in Mawlamyaing to force them to work in its affiliated illegal massage parlors and brothels. Some of those abducted women have gone missing and haven’t been heard from for long periods. (Than Lwin Times) The cash-strapped regime skims cash from many types of illegal businesses, including gambling dens, drug exports, and smuggling of timber, minerals, and other commodities.
- စီၤ ထံဆၢ