Junta surrenders base at Loikaw University to KNDF

The Karenni Nationalities Defence Force (KNDF) announced on Wednesday that they had captured Loikaw University from junta forces in the Karenni State capital after four days of fighting. Spokespersons for the Karenni ethnic armed organisation said 100 junta soldiers stationed at the university had been killed since the fighting began on November 11, and that more than 30 were now in KNDF custody. The anti-junta fighters also claim to have captured 128 weapons and a large supply of ammunition. Two light infantry battalions (LIB) stationed at the university—LIB 6 and LIB 425—fended off the KNDF’s assaults on the university for four days before surrendering. About half the troops in LIB 6 died in the battle, with LIB 425 incurring even worse losses including the deaths of a battalion commander and his second in command, according to the KNDF. A junta company commander, Captain Kaung Myat, surrendered to the KNDF on Monday along with 31 other soldiers, the KNDF said. Six other soldiers had already been taken prisoner during the clash. The KNDF did not provide any information about casualties on their own side. Junta soldiers who surrendered after surviving the battle for Loikaw University (KNDF) Fighters of the KNDF and the Karenni Revolution Union (KRU) have been attacking and laying siege to junta targets in the Karenni State capital of Loikaw since November 11 in an offensive called “Operation 11/11” after the date it was launched. KNDF chair Khun Bedu told Myanmar Now that the junta uses Loikaw as its base of operations for assaults on anti-coup fighters in Karenni State. “The military sends out commands from Loikaw to Pekhon and Moebye as well as the whole of Karenni State,” said the KNDF chair, referring to two southern Shan State townships sharing a border with Karenni State. “They attacked us throughout the rainy season. That’s why we decided to attack Loikaw,” he added. Maj.-Gen. Zaw Min Tun, the spokesperson for the military council, acknowledged that Loikaw University was under attack via a pro-junta propaganda Telegram channel on November 14. The Loikaw Prison and the state-level police office in the town were also “being targeted and attacked,” according to Zaw Min Tun. However, he did not acknowledge that junta troops had been stationed at the university. The junta announced that, due to the clashes in Loikaw, examinations for students enrolled in distance learning courses would be postponed indefinitely. Loikaw has a population of more than 50,000 and has strategic importance due to its proximity to Lawpita Falls and hydropower dams on the Balu Chaung river. The hydropower facilities in and near Loikaw Township generate a large portion of the electrical energy used in Myanmar. Additionally, Loikaw is only 70 miles from the junta’s administrative capital in Naypyitaw and is the location of one of the country’s 14 regional military command headquarters.The Karenni State Interim Executive Council—a governing body formed this year by anti-regime groups—announced on Sunday that due to the intense fighting, it was evacuating people trapped in Loikaw. The council claimed that eight civilians had been killed by military gunfire between November 11 and 13.

Junta surrenders base at Loikaw University to KNDF

After at least 100 junta troops in two army battalions died in battle at the university, the surviving soldiers turned over their weapons, KNDF spokespersons said

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