Protesters defend themselves from troops in Kale, Sagaing region, Myanmar, March 28, 2021, in this image taken March 28, 2021, obtained by REUTERS
Sleeping near their makeshift barricades, knots of young people in Tahan, in the city of Kale in western Myanmar, had not expected an attack in the dark before dawn.
Armed with a few hunting weapons made by village blacksmiths, a catapult, a few air guns and Molotov cocktails, they were not suitable for forces strengthened by decades of conflict and equipped with combat weapons.
The first barrage of missiles and rocket-propelled grenades from the Myanmar army, known as Tatmadaw, came around 5 a.m. on April 7, protesters and residents of Kale said.
By evening, the unilateral battle was over, the sandbag barricades had been cleared and 13 people had died, three people involved in the armed group told Reuters. Soldiers deployed on street corners and remain so far.
“So many people on our side were injured that we couldn’t do anything and we had to retire,” Aung Myat Thu, a 20-year-old protester from Kale, told Reuters via the messaging app.
Although the resistance in Kale was quickly crushed, it indicates a new phase of bloodshed in Myanmar after the February 1 coup, with some protesters now seeking to take up arms against junta forces.
The board did not respond to requests for comment.
The jointly controlled Myanmar Global New Light newspaper said 18 insurgents had been arrested in Kale after attacking security forces with homemade weapons. “Some members of the security forces were seriously injured,” he said
Despite early failures, disparate groups are trying to obtain better weapons, sharpen tactics, share information and receive training from some of Myanmar’s two dozen ethnic armed groups, several opposition politicians said.
“Some small defense units have been formed across the country, in the community, in villages or in sections,” said Moe Saw Oo, a spokesman for the Committee representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH), a body representing resigned parliamentarians. , which set up a rival government of national unity.
“At the same time, we are in coordination with ethnic armed organizations on the establishment of an appropriate defense force,” he said.
More than 700 people have been killed and more than 3,000 detained by security forces who have cracked down on national protests since the army overthrew the civilian government led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1.
Even though the Kale fighters withdrew, other groups appeared elsewhere. Acts of sabotage, such as the burning of administrative buildings and attacks on army-related businesses, broke out in the main city of Yangon and the second city of Mandalay.
“It is a sign of the determination and extreme violence the military has used against protesters, rather than a strategic assessment I can take of military power,” said analyst Richard Horsey, who recently briefed the Security Council. UN on the threat of national collapse.
Among the new groups, the Ayeyarwaddy Federal Army announced its arrival last week in the heart of the Bamar majority, which forms the core of the armed forces, as well as Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy.
“The armed revolution is the only way to restore the power of the people,” spokesman Thatt Aung told Reuters via the messaging app.
He did not disclose the location of the group or the size of his force, and Reuters could not do so independently.
“IF WE DON’T FIGHT …”
Pressure to organize an armed group in Kale began in mid-March, as the army intensified violence against protests in 53 million Buddhist countries.
On March 17, police opened fire on an anti-coup rally – killing four people – after pursuing protesters on Myohla, on the outskirts of Kale, said a 36-year-old activist who was there.
“From that moment on, people, especially young people, felt that we had to do something to defend ourselves,” he said, refusing to give his name in retaliation against his family.
By the end of March, at least three barricades had been set up around the main square in Tahan, and hundreds of people had gathered to gather sandbags. Young people in the city have joined together to form the Tahan Civil Defense Group, local activists said.
Then the group raised funds and looked for weapons – mostly rudimentary hunting weapons made by local blacksmiths, they said.
“At first we had seven weapons, which then rose to 15 in a short time,” said the 36-year-old activist.
The group attended the target practice session in a nearby forest on March 26. Two days later, the Tahan civil defense group stopped an assault by junta forces. Shortly afterwards, he combined with other local groups to form the Kalay (Kale) civilian army.
Such groups were receiving help from CRPH across the country, a group official said.
Several thousand young people had received basic training in weapons and fighting by at least four ethnic armed organizations, mostly in Myanmar’s border areas, he said.
“They want more,” he said, refusing to be named. “If we don’t fight, the future of Myanmar is gone.”
“DON’T UNDERSTAND TATMADAW”
In Kale, poorly trained fighters were encouraged by early success.
The 19-year-old fighter said he was sleeping between the barricades on the main road through Tahan, when gunfire woke him up.
“I took my shotgun and two soldiers started firing at me,” he said. “I only had one chance to shoot back, but my gun didn’t work.”
He took shelter behind a wall, then ran away during a break.
Tatmadaw advanced systematically, blocking escape routes, a member of the Tahan resistance said.
“We do not understand the mentality of Tatmadaw,” said the 43-year-old from a safe house. “That’s our mistake.”
Several young fighters were among the 13 dead at the end of a day of fighting, activists said.
The survivors have now reached the underground, they said.
“I was no longer safe in Kale,” said the 19-year-old fighter from northeast India, whose border is just over 100 km (60 miles away). The Indian authorities declined to comment.
A local NLD MP involved in the formation of the Kalay Civil Army said the fighters had been asked to go down for the time being, while equipment and training had been improved in Myanmar.
“Maybe the time will come to fight Tatmadaw,” he said. “For that, we will need good training.”
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