A People’s Defence Force (PDF) group in Tanintharyi Region’s Launglon Township says that one of its members was shot and captured in a raid carried out last Thursday.
In a statement released on Monday, the Launglon PDF said that regime forces used fishing boats to overrun their base in the early morning raid.
Most members of the group managed to escape, it added.
However, a large number of weapons and other military equipment, including handmade rifles, mortars, ammunition, and drones, were seized, according to the statement.
“They came straight at us in fishing boats. One of our members was captured. We haven’t been able to go back because they set landmines around the base,” said a Launglon PDF officer who spoke to Myanmar Now on condition of anonymity.
It was believed that a military informant revealed the location of the base, he added.
According to the group, junta forces have been carrying out clearance operations in Launglon Township since June 15.
The Launglon PDF has apologised to local people for its failure to protect them from attacks by regime soldiers, saying that it lacked the firepower to mount an effective counteroffensive.
In November of last year, the Launglon PDF killed six regime soldiers and lost one of its own members when it attacked a military vehicle with handmade RPGs and small arms in the village of Gawtinn.
Earlier in the year, the group seized an M16 rifle and a pistol following a clash with members of the military-backed Pyu Saw Htee militia in Pyinhtein, another village in Launglon.
A day after the Gawtinn incident, regime forces cordoned off two homes in Launglong Township belonging to a regional minister and a lawmaker from Myanmar’s ousted ruling party, the National League for Democracy.
