According to statements from People’s Defense Forces (PDF), six members of the military council forces were killed in various clashes across Myanmar on April 24. These casualties resulted from military operations conducted by local People’s Defense Forces and revolutionary alliance groups in different regions. The defensive actions by PDF forces continue in response to the military council’s ongoing violence against civilians.
The military council forces have been engaging in forced military recruitment, village burning, arbitrary arrests, torture, and killings of innocent civilians, which has necessitated the PDF’s defensive operations to protect the people. However, it should be noted that these reported casualties among military council troops cannot be independently verified by free journalists on the ground. The situation reflects the ongoing conflict between civilian defense forces and the military council that has been terrorizing the population.
According to PDF statements, their operations are conducted only when necessary to protect civilians from the military council’s war crimes. They emphasize taking special care to avoid civilian casualties in their operations. The military council’s violence has caused widespread fear among the population, with hundreds of thousands of civilians forced to flee as internally displaced persons. In this context, the People’s Defense Forces continue to stand with and protect the civilian population against military aggression. The reported casualties come amid the broader context of civilian resistance against the military council’s widespread human rights violations and oppression of the Myanmar people.
