Disguised As Civilians, 25 Myanmar Soldiers Died At The Hands Of Armed Ethnic Groups KNDO

Illustration of an armed ethnic force. (Twitter/@LZaw21)

JAKARTA - The armed ethnic group Karen National Defense Organization (KNDO), has denied allegations by the Myanmar military regime of kidnapping and killing civilians in Karen State.

Previously, the Myanmar military regime, through media affiliated with the military, accused KNDO of killing 25 civilians and detaining 47 others, who were said to be construction workers of the military-built Uhu River bridge. KNDO calls them soldiers in disguise.

On May 31, KNDO, under the Karen National Union (KNU), detained 47 people including women and children who were involved in repairing a road near the town of Waw Lay in Myawaddy Township near the border with Thailand. Twenty-five men aged between 18 and 52 were later found dead.

The military regime said on Sunday that the 25 victims were civilians who were also workers on the construction of a bridge linking the villages of Ka Ne Lay and Maw Khee in Waw Lay. The Myanmar military's South East Command has reportedly sent a complaint to the KNU headquarters seeking an explanation for the killing.

Saw Wah Nay Nu, spokesman for the KNDO Chief of Staff Major General Nerdah Bo Mya, said the victims were not civilians, but military personnel from the infantry and engineering units sent by the junta to gather intelligence about the armed group.

"We shot dead some of them. But some died in shootings by the military. Two of our troops were even injured by the shooting. They were not road workers. They had military uniforms and badges. They had military equipment. We confiscated everything," he said. launches The Irrawaddy Wednesday, June 16.

"They sent drones every night for a month. We said we couldn't accept that. But they continued and we had to do what we were supposed to do when we were at war. That's because they didn't listen to us. They always wanted to do area clearing operations. In fact, they have killed many people. They (victims) belong to the engineering unit," the KNDO spokesman added.

A murder case has been opened with the Myawaddy police by the regime, according to a source close to KNU headquarters. Myanmar's military regime insists it will wipe out ethnic armed groups, calling the KNDO a terrorist organization.

Previously, violent armed clashes occurred between KNDO and the Myanmar military regime in Waw Lay from May 31 to the first week of June. During the fighting on May 31, KNDO took 47 people consisting of 31 men, six women, and 10 children from the bridge construction site.

Then, KNDO released both civilian men and all women, as well as all children between June 1 and June 9. The military regime previously called them fleeing.

The military regime said when searching for the remaining 25 people, they found them buried in two graves about a mile apart from the construction site. Seven men were found charred on June 11, with their hands tied behind their backs. A day later, 18 other bodies were found.

As a result of armed clashes in the region, more than 200 local residents from Waw Lay and Phlu were forced to flee to Thailand.

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