PDFs attack police stations in Sagaing and Magway regions

Members of several People’s Defence Force (PDF) groups carried out two attacks on police stations in Magway and Sagaing regions last week, according to local resistance sources.

Both assaults took place last Thursday—the first at around 11am in Magway’s Yesagyo Township and the second about an hour later in Sagaing’s Salingyi Township, the sources said.

Nine different PDF groups were involved in the first attack, which targeted the Pa Khan Nge Police Station in Yesagyo, while three groups mounted the second offensive against the Kyar Tat Central Police Station in Salingyi.

According to a joint statement released by all of the groups involved, at least 23 junta personnel were killed in the two attacks.

The assault on the police station in Pa Khan Nge ended when reinforcements arrived, according to a spokesperson for the Phoenix Special Guerrilla Force, which led the offensive.

“We were very close to taking complete control of the station when more troops showed up, so we had to withdraw,” he told Myanmar Now.

He added that the Pa Khan Nge police station was heavily fortified, with not just bunkers and towers for snipers, but also communication tunnels and landmines laid around the area.

Two rocket-propelled grenades and seven 40mm mortar shells were used to launch the attack, he said.

Following the incident, regime forces reportedly confiscated residents’ mobile phones and also torched several houses.

According to the leader of the Yesagyo PDF, the attack in Kyar Tat, located some 55km northwest of Pa Khan Nge, lasted four hours, but also had to be abandoned when backup forces arrived.

“We managed to get inside and had already started to set fires, but then reinforcements from Pale arrived, forcing us to retreat. We didn’t have a chance to get into their armoury,” said Wai Gyi, the Yesagyo PDF leader.

Nine junta personnel were reportedly killed in the Kyar Tat attack, which was carried out by members of the Salingyi, Yesagyo and Myaing PDFs. 

Two PDF members were injured but are in stable condition, according to Wai Gyi.

Junta affairs

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim paid an official two-day visit to Thailand from February 9-10. In a meeting with Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha, PM Anwar urged Thailand to take greater action to address the growing crisis in neighbouring Myanmar, which has flared for over two years since a military coup in 2021. 

Citing comments made by Anwar to Prayuth at a joint press conference, Bloomberg quoted him as saying: 

“You are in a better position to express many of our concerns that the internal issue in Myanmar has to be resolved internally but it has ramifications or repercussions into the region.”

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On February 10, American oil corporation Chevron announced that its assets and holdings in Myanmar would be sold to Canadian company MTI. Chevron said that it had reached an agreement to sell an MTI subsidiary its 41.1 percent interest in the Yadana project, the natural gas from which is used domestically and exported to Thailand. The company did not reveal the amount for which it sold its stake. 

In compliance with the agreement, Chevron said it would depart Myanmar.

According to a report by rights group Justice For Myanmar, MTI Energy Inc, based in Edmonton, Alberta, is itself a subsidiary of oilfield equipment manufacturer Mitey Titan Industries. Its CEO reportedly heads several companies operating in Sub-Saharan Africa. 

The Yadana gas project is Myanmar’s biggest, with the oil and gas industry serving as a primary source of foreign revenue for the junta. Yadana was previously operated by France’s TotalEnergies, which withdrew in 2022. The exit increased Chevron’s stake to 41.1 percent, making it the largest shareholder. The project’s current operator is PTTEP, a Thai state-owned firm, which works alongside the military-controlled Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise. 

EAOs

Personnel from the Myanmar junta’s “peace talks team” met with the representatives of the New Mon State Party (NMSP) in Naypyitaw on February 13, according to a regime’s announcement in its newspapers. Lt-Gen Yar Pyae led the regime delegation and Nai Aung Min, vice chair of the NMSP, led the ethnic armed organisation’s team. According to the junta, both sides discussed proposals on issues of amending “fundamental sections” of the military-drafted 2008 Constitution. The NMSP signed the now-defunct Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement in 2018, when the country was under the elected civilian government led by State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, later deposed in the 2021 coup.

During a similar series of meetings late last month, the military met with another delegation from the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) headed by its chair, Yawd Serk. They reportedly also discussed amendments to the 2008 charter, among other issues. The regime released a statement after the third day of talks on January 26 declaring that the two groups had signed “final comprehensive peace agreements,” but did not elaborate on what this entailed. 

Armed groups actively resisting the coup regime have denounced any participation by ethnic armed organisations in the junta’s “peace talks” as long as the military continues a nationwide campaign of repression against civilians and political opponents.