YANGON — When Myanmar military helicopters arrived over Mhlaing Township in Mandalay Region on July 2, the ambush was already over. A three-hour engagement had left two police officers from Company-1 of Police Battalion-8 dead and ten more in resistance custody, with weapons, ammunition, mortars, and drone-related equipment seized from a convoy that had set out with approximately 110 personnel.
The People’s Defence Force and allied forces struck the column in the Ein Gyi Taw village area. Mi-35 helicopters arrived after the engagement had ended, followed by gyrocopters and jet fighters conducting airstrikes in nearby areas. No information on casualties or damage from those airstrikes has been reported.
On the same day, in Nan Mae Khon in Karenni State, also known as Kayah State, resistance forces captured two conscripted junta soldiers during clashes. The capture came as the Myanmar junta intensified operations in the area: approximately 500 military personnel, including conscripted soldiers, have been deployed in the Mobye area since June 2026 with the objective of recapturing Nan Mae Khon. The South China Morning Post reported in June 2026 that talks between Naypyidaw and Beijing may have emboldened the military’s posture across contested fronts.
Civilians in the area have been advised to exercise caution along the Mobye–Nan Mae Khon road and in the Loi Weng, Loi Yin, and Khaung Wan areas, as the United Nations has documented a sharp decline in humanitarian access across Myanmar’s conflict zones since June 2026.
Further west, in Sinpaungwe Township in Magway Region, resistance forces struck multiple junta checkpoints and security installations in a coordinated operation on July 2 that killed 13 personnel, including one captain, and resulted in the capture of one junta member alive. Weapons, ammunition, and military equipment were also seized.
Those operations were attributed to a joint force comprising the Thayet District Special Operations Unit, District Battalion-5, the PDF, and Pa Ka Pha members. The July 2 strikes followed a series of operations the same grouping reportedly conducted between April and June 2026 in the Nwe Leim, Lay Ma, Thabye San, and Dhanone Junction areas, involving drone strikes, destruction of bunkers, and arson attacks against checkpoints and military installations.
Across the three regions on July 2, resistance forces reported killing 15 junta personnel and capturing 13 others. The impact of the junta’s aerial response in Mandalay remains unconfirmed: Mi-35 helicopters and jet fighters struck nearby areas after the convoy ambush, but no casualty or damage figures from those strikes have been reported.
