The People’s Defence Force (PDF) of Zoland seized a junta base on Kennedy Peak in northern Chin State’s Tedim Township after a 4am clash on Tuesday, the resistance group said in a statement.
One member of the PDF and three Myanmar army soldiers were killed: two during the battle and one during the capture that followed, a spokesperson for the guerrilla group said.
Twelve of some 30 troops stationed at the site—all from Infantry Battalion 266—were reportedly taken into the PDF’s custody, including a major.
“Since they are prisoners of war, the plan is to treat them in accordance with the Geneva Convention,” Jabez, a member of the anti-junta Tedim Township People’s Administration Team, told Myanmar Now.
The PDF was still searching for the remaining 15 junta soldiers at the time of reporting.
The group also claimed on Wednesday to have confiscated 24 weapons and several rounds of ammunition from the base.
The Kennedy Peak base is considered a site of significant military importance due to its position on a mountain more than 2,700 metres high, making it the second-tallest point in Chin State after Mt Victoria. It is located between Tedim and the resistance stronghold of Kalay Township in Sagaing Region.
“[The junta] could fire heavy artillery shells at Tedim and Kalay as they pleased, since the base is located on top of the highest mountain in the area,” Jabez said. “It’s a vantage point overseeing both Kalay and Tedim.”
At the time of reporting, there had been no attempt by the junta to reclaim the post.
The PDF’s claiming of the Kennedy Peak base follows a series of resistance attacks seizing control of military camps, police stations, and towns in northern Shan State, Karenni State, Rakhine State and Sagaing Regions. Armed resistance groups in Chin State have in recent days overrun four junta camps in Falam Township, and established control over much of the area surrounding its administrative centre.
