NAYPYITAW, 13 October 2021, (TON): According to a spokesperson from the resistance group “four members of the local People’s Defence Force (PDF) were killed in a military raid on a village in Htigyaing Township, Sagaing Region.”

Around 100 junta troops ambushed Laythar village, around 10 miles north of Htigyaing town, at around 4:30am, and fighting with the Htigyaing PDF soon followed.

The PDF members who were killed were Tin Nyunt, Phyo Min Htet, Lwin Moe and Aung Ko Win.

The group’s spokesperson speculated that the military might have learned of the group’s location while interrogating a detained civilian familiar with the PDF’s movements.

The Htigyaing PDF spokesperson said “they were all trapped and surrounded.”

Several young men were also arrested during the raid, and the military reportedly confiscated multiple weapons. 

The junta’s troops were still occupying Laythar at the time of reporting, the PDF spokesperson said.

One day prior to the clash, much of Laythar’s population fled due to intensifying raids by the Myanmar army’s notorious LID 33 on villages in the northern part of the township. This included the village of Aletaw on Saturday, one of two locations where the PDF had burned down a police outpost in early October; the other outpost was in the village of Kanni.