Anti-junta militias claim killing 6 Myanmar soldiers

ANKARA

An armed militia of Myanmar's anti-coup military junta claimed to have killed six government soldiers, local media reported on Tuesday.

According to The Irrawady daily, the soldiers were killed in a joint ambush by the People's Defense Force (PDF) and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in central Mandalay state. The daily, however, added that it was unable to independently confirm the military casualties.

The PDF is the armed wing of the National Unity Government (NUG), which claims to be Myanmar's legitimate government. In response to the February 1 coup, the NUG formed an armed wing with Myanmar youths and pro-democracy activists on May 5, 2021.

The Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO), a political group of ethnic Kachins in northern Myanmar, is the military wing of the KIA. The Kachins are a group of six tribes whose territory includes Yunnan state of China, Northeast India, and Kachin State of Myanmar.

Myanmar's military ousted President Win Myint and State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb. 1, and detained them along with other senior members of the pre-coup ruling National League for Democracy party, citing "election fraud."

The takeover has led to months of protests and a mass civil disobedience movement, which has been responded with brutal force. The death toll has risen to 946, while 5,495 people are still detained, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a local monitoring group.