50 PDF fighters detained by KNLA Brigade 4; release negotiations underway

Around 50 People’s Defence Force (PDF) fighters have been taken into custody by Brigade 4 of the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) following an incident that took place in Tanintharyi Region’s Thayetchaung Township earlier this week, according to sources. The PDF fighters, including tactical commander Saw Dah Ko of PDF Tactical Unit 33 and Comrade Min Thar Gyi, commander of PDF Dawei District Battalion 2, were detained on Wednesday morning, the sources said. The detention resulted from a conflict between the PDF fighters and members of the Padeetalone guerrilla force, which operates under KNLA Brigade 4’s Battalion 12, several sources familiar with the situation told Myanmar Now. The two sides clashed on Tuesday after a PDF fighter reprimanded a local man for riding his motorcycle recklessly, the sources said. The man then complained to a relative in the Padeetalone guerrilla force, leading to a confrontation. Since being taken into custody, the 50 PDF fighters have reportedly been held in six different locations. A KNLA Brigade 4 delegation and 15 representatives of the National Unity Government (NUG) Defence Ministry’s Tanintharyi Regional Command are currently negotiating their release. Saw Dah Ko, whose PDF Tactical Unit 33 operates under the Defence Ministry’s Special Region Command, wrote on social media on Thursday that negotiations were going smoothly and said that he expected to return to his battalion soon. Comrade Joker, one of the Tanintharyi Regional Command representatives, told Myanmar Now that the situation is under control. “Discussions are going well. Our comrades are safe. Some have lost communication and are overly worried. We’ve made contact with some of them. My team and I are going to the detention locations. We’ve already communicated with the Battalion 12 commander about our plans,” he said on Thursday. KNLA Brigade 4 Padoh Saw El Nar was unavailable for comment at the time of reporting. A source close to the NUG’s Ministry of Defence said that Saw Dah Ko and Min Thar Gyi, the PDF Dawei District Battalion 2 commander, were not involved in the clash and were both detained after entering Battalion 12 territory. The source added that there have long been “simmering tensions” between the two sides, and warned that media attention could exacerbate the situation. Neither the Karen National Union, under which the KNLA operates, nor the NUG’s Ministry of Defence have officially commented on the incident.

50 PDF fighters detained by KNLA Brigade 4; release negotiations underway

The two sides clashed earlier this week over a dispute with a local man with ties to a KNLA-led guerrilla force, sources said

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