Fearing that PDFs would attack, junta troops forced civilians to pick up the bodies of the soldiers in Sanpya Village, Myingyan Township.
The local PDFs attacked the school in Sanpya Village, Myingyan Village, Mandalay Region, where around 15 junta soldiers were stationed, at around 4:30 p.m. on February 2nd. Then, when the PDFs intercepted the junta vehicles that came again with reinforcements, at least 15 soldiers were killed, according to the Natogyi People Defense Force.
“They (the junta troops) didn’t dare to pick up the bodies, so they brought the people and forced them to pick them up. I think they were afraid of being attacked by landmines,” said a local.
About 10 soldiers were killed in the school in Sanpya Village, and the locals were forced to pick up the bodies of these soldiers.
“We know from eyewitnesses that they found about 10 bodies inside the school. As we were close to the soldiers to pick up weapons, it was not ok to pick them up. We could only pick up four guns,” said the responsible person of the Natogyi People Defense Force.
While the fighting was going on in Sanpya Village, eight vehicles that came from the 15th Light Infantry Battalion were intercepted by the PDF troops in the west of Sanpya Village, causing many casualties, he added.
“They (the junta army) came out with a force of about 150 soldiers. The lead cars were sent out first. The troops spread out on foot. We fired at those vehicles with large and small weapons, and the battle started again. We know that there were many casualties. No one dares to come close, and the death cannot be confirmed. People said that there was hardly any left in one of their vehicles,” he continued.
Three MA1 guns and one carbine gun were seized from the attack on the school in Sanbye Village, and a soldier from the Myingyan Black Tiger Force was killed, and his body was not recovered.
Sanpya Village is only about four miles away from Myingyan Town, and the junta troops have been stationed in the village out of fear that PDF forces would attack Myingyan Town.
The attack was carried out jointly by the Natogyi People Defense Force, Myingyan District No. 1 Battalion, Meykham District No. 8 Battalion, Mandalay District Battalion No. 3 (MDY YPDF), Myingyan Black Tiger Force, Myingyan Township PDF (Pa-Ka-Hpa), Natogyi Township PDF (Pa-Ka-Hpa), Bo Sar Guerrilla Force, and Bo Satgyar Guerrilla Force.
MPA could not separately confirm the deaths of the soldiers.