Fighters opposed to Myanmar’s military junta seized a police station in the eastern town of Mobye on Sunday and claimed to have killed at least 13 members of the security forces and captured four, local media said.
Videos shared on social media showed what appeared to be the dead bodies of security forces in the latest attack of a general upsurge of conflict in parts of Myanmar since the February 1 coup that overthrew elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
A gun battle also erupted near the Chinese border early on Sunday, while on Saturday an armed ethnic group opposed to the coup launched an attack on a jade mining town on the other side of Myanmar, near India.
Video from Mobye showed bodies in the uniforms of the security forces, while other pictures showed four men who were said to be police with their hands behind their backs and blindfolded with surgical masks.
A police vehicle was shown in flames as dozens of fighters milled at the scene.
The Irrawaddy news outlet quoted a fighter from the People’s Defence Force as saying the police station had been set on fire and that two civilians had been wounded in the fighting. Reports from other media said up to 15 members of the security forces had been killed.
Mobye is around 100 km east of the capital Naypyidaw, but lies near territory held by some of the ethnic armed groups that have fought for greater autonomy for decades.
An alliance of four ethnic groups opposing the coup battled early on Sunday with security forces in Muse, one of the main border crossings to China, media said.
Since the Army took power, People’s Defence Forces have sprung up to oppose the junta — often armed with shotguns and homemade weapons. The video from Mobye showed at least one fighter firing an assault rifle.
Published - May 23, 2021 10:39 pm IST
