A joint force belonging to the armed wing of the Karen National Union (KNU) and an allied anti-junta resistance group intercepted a Myanmar military column in Karen State’s Kyainseikgyi Township over the weekend, resulting in the capture of 19 junta troops, a KNU official said.
The ambush, carried out by the 17th Battalion of the Karen National Liberation Army’s Brigade 6 and the Nagani Column of the People’s Defence Force (PDF), occurred between Kali Khi and Taku Khi villages, eight miles northeast of Kyainseikgyi town on Saturday night.
The following evening, the resistance forces captured the soldiers in question, among whom was an officer ranked as a major.
KNU spokesperson Padoh Saw Taw Nee told Myanmar Now on Monday that the number of casualties in the attack was not yet confirmed.
Myanmar Now also contacted a member of the Nagani Column but they did not offer comment on the incident.
According to a statement released by the column, another clash took place between the military’s Light Infantry Battalion 432 and the Karen-PDF alliance near Khoke Khwar village, also in Kyainseikgyi, on October 13. One junta soldier was killed and two were injured, the Nagani Column said.
Battles have been ongoing between the Myanmar army and resistance forces in Kawkareik and Myawaddy townships, as well as Kyainseikgyi.
The KNU-PDF alliance seized control of the military’s Paya Taung base in southern Karen State’s Payathonzu Township in late September after a battle in which 13 junta troops, including a deputy battalion commander, were killed and a large number of weapons seized.
The forces also seized control of the junta’s Kyate base in Kawkareik on September 20 after a clash in which seven soldiers were killed and two were taken prisoner.
