Dozens of junta soldiers have been killed and hundreds of civilians have fled their homes during clashes between the Myanmar military and the Karen National Union (KNU) so far in August, the armed rebel group has said.
Six of the seven regions controlled by the KNU have seen continued fighting in recent weeks between the junta’s forces and the KNU’s armed wing, the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA).
The clashes have been most intense in Hpapun district, also known as Mutraw, in Karen State, which is controlled by the KNLA’s Brigade 5. At least 50 junta troops have been killed there this month, according to Thoolei News, a publication of the KNU’s information department.
The junta-backed Border Guard Force (BGF) provided reinforcements for the Myanmar military during those clashes, the outlet said. Last month around 65 junta soldiers were reported killed in fighting in Hpapun.
Junta troops have also launched offensives in Dooplaya district against the KNLA’s Brigade 6 this month, as well as Hpa-an district, where Brigade 7 is active.
Padoh Saw Taw Nee, the head of the KNU’s foreign affairs department, warned that more clashes would be unavoidable if the junta’s troops continued to invade the group’s territory.
“Our central committee has already decided that we have the right to defend ourselves by any means,” he told Myanmar Now. “So our troops do not have to wait for orders if they invade our territories. Our soldiers will do the jobs of soldiers. It is that clear.”
On Monday morning, junta forces fired more than 50 rounds of heavy artillery that landed near the villages of Ka Maing Kone and An Hpa Gyi, which are close to the town of Kawkareik and lie within territory controlled by Brigade 6.
“We told the military’s troops not to invade those areas since they announced a temporary ceasefire in the country,” said the KNU’s Dooplaya district secretary Padoh Saw Liz Tan.
Hundreds of villagers in the area have abandoned their homes because of the shelling, he added.
“The KNU did not open fire first. We are staying in our own territory. They targeted villages and local residents are now fleeing,” he said.
On Monday, junta soldiers raided Kawthanaung, a village near Ka Maing Kone, and detained a number of residents there, the KNU’s Dooplaya District Information Department said.
Village head Saw Kyaw Thein and secretary Saw Kyaw Boe were arrested, while many men were detained to be used as porters, the department said.
Padoh Saw Liz Tan said the assault came after some 30 soldiers based in the village of Kyeik Ywar in Kyainseikgyi Township, about one and a half hours away from Kawkareik, abandoned their base camp on Saturday. They reportedly took their weapons and ammunition with them.
BGF troops have fought with the junta in Mon State’s Bilin Township against the KNU’s Brigade 1 this month. On Saturday afternoon, the Myanmar military fired heavy artillery at a village in the township.
Padoh Saw Taw Nee, the KNU foreign affairs head, said the military council had ruined all political opportunities in Myanmar by staging a coup on February 1 and that the KNU will stand together with the public.
“We are against the military coup and stand together with people who are opposing the coup. We won’t stand and watch when something happens in our territories either. We will do what we are obliged to do,” he said.
Following fatal crackdowns on street protests, many young dissidents in urban areas travelled to territory controlled by the KNU and other armed groups to take up arms against the junta.
Padoh Saw Taw Nee noted that since street protests continue to this day in urban areas, the military is now fighting on multiple fronts in its efforts to crush resistance to its rule.
“Yangon still has those protests every single day,” he said. “If they are going to open battlefronts here while they still have to carry out crackdowns in urban areas, that’s up to them.”
