Thabeikkyin Township People’s Defence Force (PDF) claims PDF forces have captured historic Tagaung Town in Mandalay Region and driven out all the junta forces stationed there.

According to a Thabeikkyin Township PDF source, PDF fighters launched simultaneous offensives against junta positions across Tagaung Town at 5:00 am on 11 August 2024 and by the evening of 12 August, they had full control of the town, which is in Mandalay Region near the border with Sagaing Region.

The source, from the Thabeikkyin Township PDF logistics unit said: “We've secured Tagaung, and the entire town is now under our control. However, the threat of airstrikes remains a significant concern.”

On the evening of 12 August, a PDF fighter from Tagaung shared on social media that he had returned home after three years and posted a photo of him taken at the town's entrance gate. Soon after that videos were posted online showing locals joyfully welcoming the PDF military convoy as it entered the town.

Ma Aye Myint Aung Aung, a Mandalay-based anti-coup activist, posted on social media that her hometown of Tagaung had now become a liberated area.

According to reports, Tagaung Town was seized by combined PDF Forces working under the National Unity Government (NUG) Ministry of Defence. The ministry told Mizzima that it would shortly make a formal announcement about the battle for Tagaung Town.

None of the PDF groups involved in taking Tagaung Town have made any formal announcements about the battle for the town or released casualty numbers for either side.

However, reports indicate that some civilians were killed during junta airstrikes carried out during the battle for Tagaung.

During the fighting for Tagaung Town junta troops tried, unsuccessfully, to defend their positions at the police station, the cottage hospital, and the Lemyethna Pagoda compound.