Armed Ethnic Forces The KNU Defeats Myanmar Military In Fierce Fighting On The Thai Border

The ethnic KNU armed forces detained a number of Myanmar military personnel and their weapons from the captured posts. (Twitter / @ KnIC_Karenni)

JAKARTA - Fierce fighting erupted at the outpost of the Myanmar military regime troops near the eastern border with Thailand on Tuesday 27 April morning.

The armed ethnic group Karen National Union (KNU) announced it had successfully seized Myanmar military positions in some of the fiercest gun clashes since the February 1 coup.

The fighting also comes days after Southeast Asian leaders announced they had reached a consensus with the Myanmar military regime to end the violence.

Villagers across the Salween river in Thailand said heavy gunfire started before sunrise. Videos posted on social media showed fire and smoke on the slopes of a forested hill.

"KNU troops have seized the outpost around 5 to 6 a.m. local time", said Head of KNU Ethnic Armed Affairs, Padoh Saw Taw Nee, as reported by Reuters, Tuesday, April 27.

He said the camp had been occupied and burned. For the victims and injuries, Taw Nee said that he was still conducting an examination. In addition, the KNU was also involved in fighting with the Myanmar military regime in a number of other areas.

The Karen Information Center, a local media group, said the military base was taken. It said the villagers had seen seven soldiers flee. Meanwhile, there was no comment from the Myanmar military regime regarding this matter.

The base has been largely under siege by the KNU troops and food has been running low in recent weeks, according to Thai villagers who have had contact with the army.

The Karen group says that 24.000 people have been displaced by violence in recent weeks, including an airstrike by Myanmar's air force and taking refuge in the jungle.

Regarding the Myanmar Coup. VOI editorial team continues to monitor the political situation in one of the ASEAN member countries. Casualties from civilians continue to fall. You can follow the news related to the Myanmar military coup by clicking on this link.