Sources in Sagaing Region told DVB that one civilian was killed and five others were injured by airstrikes carried out by six Myanmar Air Force jets escorting 17 Myanmar Navy vessels through Katha Township along the Irrawaddy River on Saturday. Katha is located 223 miles (358 km) north of the region’s capital Monywa.
A People’s Defence Force (PDF) member told DVB that the naval fleet reached Kyaukkyi village of Shwegu Township in Kachin State on July 26.
Sources told DVB that the fleet is headed toward Kachin’s Bhamo Township, where fighting between the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and regime forces has been ongoing since Dec. 4. Shwegu is located along the Irrawaddy River 29 miles (46 km) east of Katha and 64 miles (103 km) west of Bhamo.
Sources in the Mandalay Region told DVB that regime forces received support from the naval boats after retaking Thabeikkyin town from the PDF on July 23. A Thabeikkyin resident told DVB that at least 40 regime troops remained in the town while the rest had withdrawn to regroup at 4-Mile village on July 23.
Thabeikkyin is a port town on the east bank of the Irrawaddy. Its port serves vessels between Mandalay and the Kachin State capital Myitkyina, located 118 miles (189 km) north of Bhamo. Thabeikkyin, home to several gold mining sites, is located 90 miles (144 km) north of Mandalay and 200 miles (321 km) south of Bhamo.
The PDF claimed it attacked the Myanmar Navy fleet, sinking one boat and setting fire to three others, including a warship, on July 20. At least 20 civilians were killed by airstrikes in three villages of Sagaing’s Wetlet Township after the naval fleet departed from Gaw Wein Jetty in Mandalay on July 17.
