Tamu locals ambush junta convoy, killing three soldiers

Locals in Tamu, Sagaing Region, ambushed the junta’s armed forces with home-made hunting rifles as they entered the town to suppress protests on Saturday.

At least three soldiers and one local were killed in the incident, residents said.

Upon hearing that the regime troops stationed in Kalay were on their way to Tamu to crack down on anti-coup demonstrations, the people confronted the armed forces head-on at 1pm. 

The clash occurred on the Asian Highway, which connects the two Sagaing Region towns. 

“It was guerrilla warfare,” one Tamu local said. “We didn’t have any stronghold in particular, but we set up bunkers in every ward so it would not be easy for them to get in.”

The local said that three people were killed on the military’s side, and one local man who entered the street where gunfire was being exchanged was shot in the head by the military. 

After the initial confrontation, more military trucks arrived in Tamu from Kalay with reinforcements. The shooting continued. 

The resistance from Tamu were using Tumi guns, a type of single-shot traditional hunting rifle loaded with gunpowder.

The people have to continue defending themselves, locals said, adding that they are committed to using guerrilla warfare in self-defence against the coup regime. 

In early April, a group of locals led by a police officer who had defected to the Civil Disobedience Movement ambushed a Tamu police outpost with similar weaponry, killing five policemen. The police officer who led the resistance was also killed in the attack, after the police retaliated with machine gun fire.