- People Spring
The resistance forces have been on the offensive for about a week to seize Indaw Township in Sagaing Region, but the Military Council is fiercely defending its remaining stronghold at the Japan Cave Pagoda in the town and using air support, according to locals and resistance sources.
“Originally, the Military Council troops were fortified in three locations. Now they’ve retreated from two, but they’re still holding out fiercely at the Japan Cave Pagoda,” an Indaw local told People’s Spring. With the town encircled by resistance forces, the Military Council is unable to send reinforcements by land and is intensifying its airstrikes instead, he added.
The Japan Cave Pagoda stands on the highest hill in Indaw Town. Across the town, around 500 combatants from the Military Council’s Light Infantry Battalion 77 and the allied Shanni Nationalities Army (SNA) remain stationed.
Most of the town has now fallen to the resistance forces, and fierce fighting continues, said Comrade Awzar, spokesperson for the Sagaing People’s Defense Force (Sagaing PDF).However, he declined to provide specific details on the current state of the battle.
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“Intense clashes are ongoing. We’re attacking the enemy while maintaining control over the parts of the town already under our hold,” he said.
Geographically, Indaw, located at the border of Sagaing Region and Kachin State, forms a triangle with Tigyaing and Kathar. It is 16 miles by road from Indaw to Katha and 42 miles to Tigyaing.
Although Indaw is situated on the Mandalay-Myitkyina railroad, the section of the railroad around the town has been under resistance control after the coup, preventing the Military Council from using it.
In mid-August, the resistance forces launched simultaneous offensives to capture Indaw, Pinlebu, and Tigyaing, but it was unsuccessful and had to be temporarily suspended. On 1 November, some PDF factions relaunched the offensive to take over Indaw. Pinlebu was seized by the PDF on 8 October.
Within a week of the start of the clashes in Indaw, the Military Council conducted airstrikes daily. The clashes resulted in many casualties on the Military Council’s side, and there were also injuries among the PDF fighters.
On 5 November, as clashes raged in Indaw, the Military Council Air Force bombed a hospital in Maw Luu Town, located in the northern part of Indaw Township. Fortunately, no one was injured.
In the battle for Indaw, PDF factions, along with troops from the All Burma Students’ Democratic Front (ABSDF) and other allied resistance forces, are fighting together. The ABSDF, an armed organization born from the historic 8888 People’s Uprising, is currently fighting the Military Council in cooperation with the resistance forces during the Spring Revolution.
Although not fully successful, during the first attempt in August, the resistance forces managed to capture the Military Council camp at Nabar Intersection, the camp deployed in the monastery compound in Nabar Village, and the Indaw Police Station.
The Military Council troops, who had been forced to retreat and regroup, stationed themselves in the Indaw Myoma Monastery compound, as well as in the Military Hill and Pagoda Hill areas, arresting locals and using them as human shields.
As a result, the PDF decided to halt the offensive at that time. The clashes subsided from the end of August to the end of October, but erupted once again in early November.
Due to the ongoing fighting, the Indaw-Katha Road section and the Mandalay-Myitkyina Road are temporarily closed.
Across Myanmar, the resistance forces have taken control of 86 towns, with PDFs leading the operations in eight of them. These include Kanbalu, Mawlu, Shwe Pyi Aye, Myothit, and Pinlebu in Sagaing Region, as well as Singu, Thabeikkyin, and Tagaung in Mandalay Region.
A total of 86 towns have been captured by various resistance forces across the country, including 8 towns captured by the PDF leadership: Khampat, Maw Luu, Shwe Pyi Aye, Myothit, and Pinlebu in Sagaing Region, as well as Singu, Thabeikkyin, and Tagaung (Takaung) in Mandalay Region.
