NAYPYITAW, 13 November 2021, (TON): People’s Defence Force (PDF) fighters in Sagaing Region’s Pale Township used handmade explosives to attack a column of 70 soldiers marching on foot, killing or injuring an estimated 25 of them.

A spokesperson for Pale PDF Headquarters, which is under the command of the National Unity Government, said “the junta soldiers were stationed at the village of Wanbe Chaing, some 20 miles west of the town of Pale.”

He added that they were marching along the road connecting Pale to Gangaw near the Nagama hill when the ambush happened.

The  spokesperson said “we still don’t know the exact number of casualties but many of them were injured. The explosives used in the attack were planted in the paths of the soldiers and detonated with the pull of a string by nearby resistance fighters.”

The junta soldiers began firing their weapons in random directions after the attack, the spokesperson added, but the PDF fighters retreated without firing back. Myanmar Now was unable to contact local residents for help confirming the number of junta casualties.

The 70 soldiers were part of a group sent to reinforce a military unit that raided the house of ousted National League for Democracy MP Zaw Htet in Mintaingpin village on November 5 and subsequently came under attack by resistance forces.