Two military officers were killed in recent attacks by resistance forces on troops travelling from Demoso Township to neighbouring Hpruso in Karenni State.
Serious battles broke out on the section of the Union highway that connects the townships in early August. Fighting was ongoing as of Tuesday, with major casualties reportedly suffered on the side of the junta.
A deputy battalion commander and a captain, both from the Myanmar army’s Light Infantry Division 55, were killed in such clashes on August 10 and 12, according to a member of a resistance group on the ground.
“We seized three pistols, the national registration card of the captain and got their ID numbers,” he told Myanmar Now.
The junta forces, which primarily have control over urban areas including Demoso town, have been launching attacks along the highway in order to secure passage for their own convoys heading to Hpruso; they have also been using helicopters to supply their bases in the township.
The convoy to which the slain captain and battalion commander belonged arrived at and occupied the village of Htee Taw Ku, within three miles of Hpruso, before ultimately retreating due to the force returned by allied anti-junta guerrilla groups.
Pro-regime Telegram channels have reported that several officers were killed during the recent Hpruso battles. Myanmar Now is unable to independently verify the total number of casualties.
On August 13, the military launched an airstrike on Htee Taw Ku in which weaponry hit the village’s church. An artillery shell fired by the army in a clash near another village, Htu Lwi Bi Lar, on August 3, killed five members of the Karenni resistance.
Four days later, the anti-junta forces destroyed two military vehicles in the area.
