Convoy of junta troops' warships returning from Bhamo arrives in Mandalay with over 300 injured soldiers

A convoy of junta troops' warships that transported supplies, weapons, and troops from Mandalay to Bhamo along the Ayeyarwady River arrived back in Mandalay on September 21, carrying over 300 injured soldiers, according to military sources and family members of military personnel. The convoy had departed from Mandalay in late August and reached Bhamo in early September. Along the route, approximately 20 vessels, including warships, were damaged and sunk due to ambushes by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and allied revolutionary forces. "The one in front of us was shot and sank. We escaped and arrived in Mandalay. The journey took over 10 days. We had no food, and we drank the water we found, so some of us got diarrhea on the ship. We were only allowed to leave Bhamo recently and have come here," a female family member of a soldier who escaped from Bhamo and was on the ship told the Ayeyarwady Times. The warships docked at the dockyard office's Dawkyin jetty and the Peping jetty in Mandalay city on the morning of September 21, bringing back hundreds of troops who had been stationed in Bhamo. "Around 11:30 this morning, warships docked at the Peping jetty, and soldiers disembarked with crutches. Some were carried on stretchers. Over 300 injured soldiers are being transported to Nan Yin Hospital," a military source told the Ayeyarwady Times. Meanwhile, it is reported that a reception is being planned for the soldiers returning for rotation who were not injured, and the commander of the Central Military Command (Mandalay), Major General Aung Htay, and the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Navy are expected to attend the reception.