Clashes With KNLA Troops In Papun: 118 Myanmar Regime Soldiers Killed, Including Battalion Commander

Illustration of KNLA soldiers (Source: karennews.org)

JAKARTA - More than 100 soldiers of the Myanmar military regime were killed in fighting with the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) in the Brigade 5 area, Papun District, Karen State, the group said in a statement Tuesday.

The KNLA is the military wing of the Karen National Union (KNU), which has fought the Myanmar government and previous military regimes for autonomy and equality for more than seven decades.

Quoting The Irrawaddy Tuesday, August 31, KNU's Mutraw (Papun) District Information Department said, around 118 junta soldiers were killed and 68 injured in more than 130 clashes between the junta and KNLA troops in their district, during the month of August.

"One of those injured was a battalion commander. Five of our soldiers were injured but there were no casualties," the KNU statement said.

The statement further explained that the Myanmar military regime carried out 120 artillery attacks against civilian farms and plantations, destroying a total of six houses and beating three civilians.

"The Myanmar regime military conducts aerial reconnaissance over the Brigade 5 area five times a month," the statement continued.

Outside of Papun district, military tensions persist in other areas controlled by KNU/KNLA in Thaton in Mon State, Paan, Kawkareik and Kyarinseikgyi in Karen State, Nyaunglebin and Taungoo in Bago County in August, with at least 20 clashes reported .

To note, since the February 1 coup, several KNLA brigades, including Brigade 5, have protected striking civil servants and provided combat training to civilians who volunteered to fight the junta.

KNLA forces inflicted heavy casualties on the military, in addition to capturing at least five military camps near the Salween River, along Myanmar's border with Thailand between March and May.

The Myanmar Coup. The editor of VOI continues to monitor the political situation in one of the ASEAN member countries. Civilian casualties continued to fall. Readers can follow news about the Myanmar military coup by tapping this link.