Residents in Bago Region told DVB that the Myanmar Army has been providing training to ex-military personnel, former police, and administration officials at the Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 92 outpost in Pandaung Township since May in an effort to boost the defense of regime weapons factories.
“Each batch consists of at least 100 trainees,” a resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity. Pandaung is located 188 miles (302 km) north of the region’s capital Bago. This is where the Directorate of Defence Industries (DDI) 6, known in Burmese as KaPaSa, reportedly refines raw materials for manufacturing arms and ammunition for the military.
A source told DVB that DDI 6 is currently protected by military conscripts and needs more manpower to defend it from attacks. The regime enforced its military conscription law on Feb. 10, 2024.
Sources told DVB that the Arakan Army (AA) and its allied resistance forces captured a regime outpost in Nyaungkyo village near Okeshitpin town of Pandaung Township in March. But the AA has not advanced further into Bago, where there are seven DDI weapons factories. Nyaungkyo is located 26 miles (42 km) west of Pandaung.
The AA expanded its Arakan offensive into neighbouring Bago, Ayeyarwady and Magway regions in December. It controls 14 out of 17 townships in Arkan, as well as Paletwa in southern Chinland
