Armed forces reportedly attacked the Tahan protest camp from multiple directions and cut the site off from local reinforcements
The regime’s troops stormed the Tahan protest camp– a well known resistance stronghold in Kalay, Sagaing Region– in a pre-dawn attack on Wednesday, killing at least eight people and wounding around 20, according to sources on the ground.
Seven of those killed were protesters and one was a bystander, another protester said. He added that rescuers had only been able to retrieve five of the eight bodies as of early afternoon on Wednesday.
A local who spoke to Myanmar Now said that a rescue team had provided him with photos of the five bodies and information about the casualties, which included young protesters in their 20s.
He added that the troops’ attack on Tahan reportedly came from four directions and was carried out with machine guns and grenades.
Another Kalay local who spoke to Myanmar Now on the condition of anonymity said that the troops waited for the protesters to let down their guard, and launched their offensive against Tahan at 5am.
“[The armed forces] intensified the attack at around 5:45am… The troops blocked all the directions through which locals could send help to the stronghold. So people from other villages couldn’t come to help defend [the Tahan camp] from the attack,” the local said.
The onslaught continued until 9am, with troops also shooting at houses in residential areas and raiding local clinics, according to Kalay residents.
Around 20 people were injured and at least 10 people were arrested.
“About four or five protesters with injuries were arrested. Those who went out to set fires in the streets to stop the troops were also arrested,” another protester from the Tahan camp said.
The regime’s troops tried to dismantle the Tahan protest camp for the first time on March 28 but locals defended themselves with locally made hunting rifles, and the junta’s attempt to remove them was unsuccessful.
Soldiers and police killed four civilians that day, and injuries were reported on the military’s side.
The second attack came on Wednesday, 10 days later.
Despite the crackdown on the town’s largest stronghold, residents in Kalay took to the streets around 11am to continue to protest the military.
Original News – Myanmar NOW ( https://www.myanmar-now.org/en/news/troops-attack-kalay-protest-stronghold-with-heavy-weapons-killing-at-least-eight )
