Junta troops have been raiding villages near the ancient town of Tagaung in the northernmost corner of Mandalay Region after clashes with local resistance groups on March 4, forcing more than 5,000 people from nine villages to flee their homes.
Displaced residents are taking shelter in nearby villages and forests, according to a volunteer helping them.
“Junta troops remain in Tagaung Town. Military tensions are still running high. Displaced people will need relief as time goes by, but for now we only need to help with their security,” he said.
The regime carried out airstrikes and artillery attacks during the fighting, and junta troops are still raiding villages, resistance fighters say.
“The fighting has not yet erupted in the town, but there have been clashes in villages near the town. So, villagers have fled. The regime carried out bombing raids following intense fighting on March 7 and 8. As a result, villagers dare not return to their villages,” a member of the Tagaung Town People’s Defense Force (PDF) said. Junta troops stationed at a Buddhist monastery in the town suffered casualties during a resistance drone attack on March 1. Junta troops torched about 20 houses in No. 4 ward in retaliation, residents said.
Resistance groups subsequently attacked junta troops stationed at a village about 5 kilometers from the town on March 4 and clashes continued till March 8.
“After suffering casualties, junta jets dropped eight 300-pound bombs on March 7 alone. Civilians were injured and homes were damaged as junta gunships strafed villages outside the conflict area,” one resistance fighter said. Sugarcane plantations were also damaged by junta bombs.
More than 100 junta soldiers entered Tagaung on March 9, and began barring people from entering and leaving the town. The regime has also cut off internet service in Tagaung.
One resident of the town said: “Homes shook when warplanes flew over the town and dropped bombs [on surrounding villages]. The military has barred people from entering or leaving the town. We have completely lost internet access and phone service is also very limited.”
Thabeikkyin Township PDF said that on March 9 it blocked the road between Twin Nge and Tagaung towns for an indefinite period of time.
The ancient town of Tagaung is located on the eastern bank of the Ayeyarwady River in Thabeikkyin Township, the northernmost part of Mandalay Region, bordering Sagaing Region’s Tigyaing Towship. The majority of the township’s residents are farmers or loggers. The town is about 200 km north of Mandalay city.