While the military council reported that its forces inflicted casualties on the Mandalay People’s Defence Force (PDF) on Tuesday, local residents say members of the regime’s armed forces were also killed in the clashes in the city.
At around 8am, junta troops raided the area where the PDF troops were stationed in Chanmyathazi Township, starting the first armed clash between local resistance forces and the regime in a major urban area since the February 1 coup.
A local with military ties told Myanmar Now that the officer in charge of the army column at the scene was killed. The column was reportedly stationed more than 300 meters from the location of the raid.
Another woman who lives in Chanmyathazi near the clash site confirmed that an officer was killed in the fighting, along with three other regime soldiers.
The regime officer killed in the Tuesday clash was Lt Col Aung Myo Kyaw, according to a source close to him.
The military council released a statement on Tuesday claiming that “some” of their soldiers had suffered serious injuries, but did not admit to any casualties.
They did, however, report that four PDF members were killed and eight arrested in a shootout that took place during a home search on the intersection of 54th and 111th streets.
On 53rd St, the junta’s soldiers claimed that they tried to stop a car after its passengers opened fire on them, but reported that the car crashed into an electrical transformer three blocks away, killing all four people inside.
The Mandalay PDF’s information officer Bo Tun Tauk Naing told Myanmar Now that his group suffered casualties on Tuesday, as did another allied group of fighters that came to Chanmyathazi to help them.
“There were two casualties on our side. Six of us were arrested. Three members of the DRPA [Dictatorship Revolutionary People’s Army] were also killed,” he said.
He also noted that the raid against the Mandalay PDF occurred while the junta soldiers were investigating a Monday night explosion in the township.
“An explosion broke out at Lay Myat Nar pagoda. One of their leaders died. They suffered and so they tried to investigate the neighbourhood. They searched door-to-door, but some of us refused to take part in the inspection,” Bo Tun Tauk Naing said. “Lay Myat Nar is not far from our location. When some of us refused to undergo an inspection, the clash began.”
The regime’s armed forces sent around 20 military and police vehicles into the area, opening fire on the house in question. The Mandalay PDF returned fire, according to video footage, which also indicated that the Myanmar military used heavy artillery in the city.
Within hours, the PDF had to retreat due to the imbalance of power and weaponry.
“The incident happened quickly. The situation was unavoidable. We were blocked. The news about them came only after they had arrived. We can say we were too late,” Bo Tun Tauk Naing said.
The spokesperson’s comments following the retreat reflected a shift in sentiment from statements he made to Myanmar Now on Tuesday morning. He had told Myanmar Now that the PDF was prepared for the battle, and compared the losses incurred to “one finger out of a whole hand.”
Near the scene of the shootout, two civilians were injured: a young man shot in the temple and another man shot in the back. They were undergoing medical treatment, according to a local social relief association.
After the shootout, there were blasts reported elsewhere in Mandalay, according to the city’s residents. Locals also set fire to car tyres on the streets to stop the advance of the junta’s army.
Local news outlet Mizzima cited an eyewitness report on Tuesday that a policeman was shot dead by a gunman on a motorcycle at 3:30pm outside of a police station on 66th St.
By Tuesday evening, checkpoints were set up at entry and exit points to the city. The junta’s forces began conducting extensive searches, residents told Myanmar Now. They said the operation included raids on homes, and they reported hearing gunshots.
