Two PDF troops killed and one detained in clash with junta soldiers in Yangon Region 

Two People’s Defence Force (PDF) fighters died and another was detained on Friday in Yangon Region’s Kayan Township, an officer from the resistance group has said.

“We were forced to clash with the military unexpectedly in the middle of our guerrilla warfare. Two of our troops fell and one was arrested,” the officer told Myanmar Now.

The Kayan PDF used grenades to attack a military checkpoint near a local sports ground at around 7pm. But the grenades did not explode and there was a shootout between the two groups.

The officer did not know if there were any casualties on the junta’s side.

Several Kayan locals said that the military has been doing security checks in the town.

“They’ve been using excessive force to oppress our small rural town,” said the PDF officer. “They also forced the shops and street vendors to close and they’re trying to station themselves in some villages. They’ve already blocked all the entrances and exits as well.” 

The military has not commented on the clash in Kayan.

The junta’s forces have been suffering heavy losses in the hilly regions of Chin and Kayah states, where local resistance fighters can use the terrain to hide and launch ambushes. 

But PDF fighters in the flatter and more urban townships of Yangon Region say they have had difficulties finding opportunities for surprise, guerrilla-style attacks. 

In early August a junta-assigned administrator in Kayan named Win Khine was assassinated. Two days later a naval lieutenant was reportedly killed in the township’s Ohn Bin village. 

Earlier this month two soldiers, including the deputy commander of the 139th Light Infantry Battalion, were killed in a bomb attack in Yangon.

At least 35 young people were arrested in Yangon between September 13 and 17 as the junta stepped up raids in a bid to prevent guerrilla attacks.