The military council has blocked Taungoo-Thandaung road after revolutionary forces attacked the military battalion at 4th mile gate, east of Taungoo in Taungoo District in Bago Region, according to locals.
On the night of 17 November, the revolutionary forces attacked the military council’s Light Infantry Battalion-39. As a response, the military council is carrying out airstrikes and firing heavy shells into Yaysinkone village close to the battalion and other villages.
Fighting continued until the morning of 18 November. The military council has blocked the road and the residents were not trapped, a local from Thandaung said.
“The road is blocked at the 4th mile. Sittaung Bridge was closed in the early morning. No one is allowed to enter and leave Taungoo. I don’t know when it will be reopened,” a local from Thandaung said.
At present, the fighting has calmed down. The entry and exit of Sittaung Bridge are allowed. Local residents from Taungoo have warned that the public need to be careful as the army has tightened inspections at the entry and exit of Taungoo.
A local woman from Taungoo who declined to be named said: “Now the situation is stable. The army is still active. This morning, the situation is terrible. I started hearing gunshots at 4 am this morning.”
In recent days, fighting took place between the military council and revolutionary forces in towns and cities in Yedashe Township, east of Bago Region, displacing many locals.
Due to the strict inspection of entry and exit at the boat harbors east of the Sittaung River and restrictions on the transportation of goods, local residents say that people travelling by boat in the region are facing difficulties.
During the battle and shooting that took place in Taungoo 4th mile gate of the battalion, the casualties on both sides are still being confirmed, and the military council has not yet released anything about the incident.
Sent by KIC.