Armed Clashes In Kawlin, More Than 40 Myanmar Military Regime Soldiers Killed

Illustration of Myanmar security forces. (Wikimedia Commons/Maung Sun)

JAKARTA - Armed clashes between civil resistance fighters against the army of the Myanmar military regime in Kawlin Township last weekend, claimed dozens of lives.

Citing The Irrawaddy Wednesday, July 7, more than 40 soldiers of the military regime were killed in armed clashes last weekend, while three members of the People's Defense Forces (PDF) were killed, according to sources familiar with the incident.

Clashes on Friday last week left four soldiers of the Myanmar military regime dead and 20 others injured, in an armed clash at a building near the village of Thit Seint Gone, east of the township, according to local residents.

On Sunday, more than 40 soldiers were killed and three military trucks were destroyed near the villages of Nyaung Gone and Kokko Gone, about 16 km from the site of the previous fighting.

It was the first reported armed clash in the village, where residents have held peaceful protests against regime rule since a military coup in February. The townspeople of Kale, Tamu, Yinmabin, Kani, Mingin, and Katha have also taken up arms against the junta since late March.

Rumors circulated that the ethnic armed forces of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) assisted PDF in the fighting. KIA troops fought alongside PDF at Katha in late May. However, KIA spokesman Colonel Naw Bu denied involvement.

"KIA did not carry out joint military operations with the PDF. However, it is possible that the front-line KIA battalion commander has helped the resistance fighters," said Colonel Naw Bu.

Junta reinforcements arrived in Kawlin Township this week, after a firefight. One resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said soldiers raided Nyaung Gone village on Tuesday night.

About 150 to 200 soldiers arrived at the villages in Kawlin from Monywa. They were also placed at a school in Kawlin on Wednesday.

"On Wednesday, they stormed the villages west of the township. People live in fear," said the resident.

Residents added that the military had been raiding nearby villages since Monday.

"They fired randomly, prompting the civilian villagers to flee but some stayed in their homes. A woman in her 40s was shot dead in Nyaung Gone on the Shwebo-Myitkyina highway. She was riding a motorcycle with her child when soldiers at a military truck shot them. His mother was killed," said the resident.

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