Four members of the local People’s Defence Force (PDF) were killed in a military raid on a village in Htigyaing Township, Sagaing Region, on Monday morning, according to a spokesperson from the resistance group.
Around 100 junta troops ambushed Laythar village, around 10 miles north of Htigyaing town, at around 4:30am, and fighting with the Htigyaing PDF soon followed.
The PDF members who were killed were Tin Nyunt, Phyo Min Htet, Lwin Moe and Aung Ko Win.
The group’s spokesperson speculated that the military might have learned of the group’s location while interrogating a detained civilian familiar with the PDF’s movements.
“They were all trapped and surrounded,” the Htigyaing PDF spokesperson said.
Several young men were also arrested during the raid, and the military reportedly confiscated multiple weapons.
The junta’s troops were still occupying Laythar at the time of reporting, the PDF spokesperson said.
One day prior to the clash, much of Laythar’s population fled due to intensifying raids by the Myanmar army’s notorious LID 33 on villages in the northern part of the township. This included the village of Aletaw on Saturday, one of two locations where the PDF had burned down a police outpost in early October; the other outpost was in the village of Kanni.
In the village of Inntein, the owner of a motorcycle repair shop died on Monday after 24 hours in junta detention after he was arrested for possessing the shell casing of a bullet in his tool box.
The Htigyaing PDF, which was formed in May to fight back against military rule, has stepped up its resistance against the Myanmar army since late September, and called on junta-assigned local administrators to resign or risk being assassinated for serving the coup regime. More than 30 quit their posts in Htigyaing in recent weeks after the threat was issued.
The group has also instructed civilians not to go out after 8pm or to use the Mandalay-Myitkyina highway at night, or to travel in trucks or buses between October 9 and 15 as the PDF is reportedly planning attacks, noting that junta soldiers have been riding in these civilian vehicles.
