It is reported today that as local people defense forces were detonating bombs at the district court of Yinmarbin Township yesterday evening. Afterwards, a vehicle carrying ten junta soldiers arrived, and gunfires were exchanged. The encounter led to two deaths of junta soldiers. Many losses of the regime forces were also reported today. Local defense forces in Yangon threw 40 mm grenades at the junta soldiers who had stationed in Shwe Pauk Kan football field. This attack led to the deaths of at least 10 soldiers. This mission was a success without any capture of the defense force. In Loikaw, Kayantharyar Village, Karenni Nationalities Defense Force (KNDF) and People Defense Forces (PDF) ambushed the junta forces with 200 members that had come to launch attackers on Moebye and Pekhon areas. This ambush led to the deaths of 15 regime soldiers.
In Yangon’s Hlaingtharyar Township, seven junta soldiers that have been troubling the public with rigorous inspection at the bus stop were attacked by the urban guerrilla forces. This led to the deaths of two out of seven soldiers. On the other hand, the military is staging to accuse the defense forces as committing terrorist behaviours by purposely launching attacks on civilians’ spaces. In Mon State’s Kyaikhto Township, a high school of Kinmonchaung village was attacked this morning which led to three students being injured. Kyaikhto Revolution Force (KRF) declared that this attack was not of local defense forces nor of Karen National Liberation Army, but presumably the pro-military thuggish group, Phyu Saw Htee. This attack on civilians was purposely staged to confuse the public in order to accuse the PDF as terrorists, said the KRF. Defense forces and urban guerrillas vowed that they would never attack civilians.
Junta’s forces continue with excessive violence on the people in retaliation. It is reported today that regime forces launched airstrikes on Gahe village, Inndaw Township, Sagaing on the morning of January 4. The attacks on civilians led to the death of one woman and disappearance of three young women. Many households were burnt down including several livestocks. Mainglone and Pankan villages of Loikaw township, Karenni State, have also been suffering from the loss of several houses as the junta forces burnt them down after losing the battles against the Karenni forces. An innocent civilian, a father of two children and a sole breadwinner of a young family, was shot to death by regime soldiers in a close range while he was commuting to work on a motorbike. He was shot just after junta forces were ambushed with landmines in Monywa’s streets which resulted in the deaths of three soldiers. Junta, on the other hand, reported the victim as a PDF member that had come to plant mines in their media.
In Dawei today, a political activist Ko Tun Oo, was sentenced to prison for 19 years as he led various protests and court rules were made for five different charges according to Dawei Political Prisoners Network(DPPN). He would still be facing trials as he still has four other charges. He is sued with the highest number of charges, and is now sentenced the longest in Dawei. In Yangon’s Taikkyi township, junta forces killed an innocent person with disabilities as he refused to open the door when they came to check household registration of the houses in the area where a military informant was killed yesterday. Four villagers who came out of their homes when they heard the gunshots were also arrested at the spot. The body of the victim was also taken.
The SAC issued an announcement today that the electricity can be cut off any time between 7am to 11pm in the whole country except the night time when people go to sleep. With boycotts of electricity bill payments by the people as one form of Civil Disobedience Movement, the SAC is unable to get revenues to produce the supplies. The SAC’s Ministry of Electricity and Energy(MOEE) has been struggling to produce supplies, to cover its costs, to operate the existing infrastructure and to follow through on the previous pipeline projects, as the report said. The SAC also instructed people to switch off the power when not in use and to use LED lights. It seems Myanmar people are determined to use candles in the dark by continuing to boycott paying bills to the SAC rather than living under the dark era ruled by the fascist military. Coincidently, Kyaikhto’s electricity office was bombed by the KRF as they were forcibly asking payments from the people.
The protest theme today was on the scheduled visit of the Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on this Friday and Saturday. In Launglon Township, Dawei, protesters launched a dawn strike against the Prime Minister of Cambodia who plansto visit Myanmar to hold talks with the murderer-in-chief to “end bloodshed”. People burned a picture of Hun Sen, and held banners to remind him of the killing fields of Cambodia in the 70s. Many protesters demand Hun Sen not to support another killing field. Similar protests were observed in Shwebo, Sarlingyi, Yinmarbin,Kalay, Depayin, Monywa and Mandalay.
