Attack 300 Military Regime Troops, Armed Ethnic Karenni Army Kills 10 Myanmar Soldiers

Civil defense forces in Demoso, Kayah State. (Facebook/Demoso People Defense Force)

JAKARTA - At least 10 soldiers of the military regime were reported killed and others injured on Sunday in a shootout with armed ethnic groups Karenni Army (KA) and Karenni National Defense Forces (KNDF) in Kayah State, southeastern Myanmar.

Civilian resistance fighters and troops from the KNDF and KA, the armed wing of the Karenni National Progressive Party, ambushed about 300 junta soldiers on Sunday morning near the border between Shan State's Pekon Township and Kayah State's Hpruso Township.

The KNDF said the ambush was carried out as the Myanmar military tried to attack a mountainous area located west of Hpruso Township, where the People's Defense Forces (PDF) and the Karenni armed group are based.

"The gunfight lasted for about an hour, but the Myanmar junta troops continued to fire heavy weapons for about four hours," a KNDF spokesman told The Irrawaddy, Monday August.

As a result of this ambush, at least 10 Myanmar junta soldiers were reported killed and others injured, while a number of civil resistance fighters suffered minor injuries from the explosion.

In addition, around 500 civilians from three nearby villages were forced to flee their homes, fearing that they would be affected by the armed clashes.

The firefight continued into the afternoon when Myanmar military regime forces launched an offensive in the area, according to a KNDF statement.

The KNDF also said several columns of regime troops were moving in Kayah State and preparing to attack PDF in the cities of Loikaw and Hpruso.

Last week, a series of firefights between junta troops and KNDF and ethnic KA gunmen took place in three townships, Demoso, Hpruso and Bawlakhe, over two days. Around 14 junta soldiers were reportedly killed by KA and KNDF in the clashes.

Armed resistance to military rule in Kayah State began in late May, following the regime's crackdown on peaceful anti-coup demonstrations across the country.

In retaliation, the military regime carried out air strikes against civilian targets, after suffering heavy losses in Kayah State.

As a result of this prolonged fighting, more than 100,000 local residents were forced to flee their homes, fleeing to safer places last June.

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