New Delhi: Fierce fighting has been going on in Myanmar’s Sagaing region close to the India border between the pro-democracy forces and that country’s military to retake some key towns from the National Unity Government (NUG)’s armed wing, the People’s Defence Force (PDF).
News reports have said the fighting began on April 20 in the strategic town of Shwe Pyi Aye, located about 15 kms from the India-Myanmar border. The town is a part of the Homalin area, located by river Chindwin, and equipped with an airport. Homalin is famous for its gold mines.
According to The Irrawaddy, “On April 20, regime forces launched a fierce offensive to retake the town, which has been under the administration of the NUG for more than five months.” The NUG had installed a civilian administration in Shwe Pyi Aye in November last year after PDFs and allied forces seized the town.
The news report said, “A member of the Homalin Township PDF said the regime troops attacking the town have massive air and artillery support.” Junta jets are also bombing nearby villages, he told The Irrawaddy.
“No casualty figures for either side have been released.”
Myanmar’s military, the Junta, which took control of that country’s administration in a coup in 2021 after Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League of Democracy won a mandate in general elections, has also been launching attacks on another town on the Indian border, Khampat, to retake it from the NUG administration.
Also read: Understanding India’s Interests in Myanmar’s Paletwa That Pro-Democracy Forces Snatched from Junta
Reports said three civilians including a child were killed in an airstrike launched by the Junta on the strategic town of Khampat this past April 22.
“A jet fighter dropped a 500-lb bomb on Khampat at around 2 am on Monday (April 22), killing three residents and wounding 10 in No. 1 Ward and adjacent Sawbwar Yayshin village. Houses were also damaged in the attack,” reported The Irrawaddy.
Khampat, which lies on the Asian Highway and is an important cog in India’s Act East policy, was occupied by resistance groups in November last year. In December 2023, the Junta had unsuccessfully tried to regain control of Khampat.
Khampat is significant also for the Mizo-Zo community spread across Mizoram and Manipur on the Indian side. An old banyan tree, considered the family tree of the community, lies in Khampat. In 2016, The Wire had reported that the Narendra Modi government had conceded to the longstanding demand of the Mizos on the Centre to write to Myanmar to protect that tree.
