Multiple blasts reported at Myanmar army base in Karenni State

A Myanmar army base operated by Infantry Battalion (IB) 102 in Karenni (Kayah) State’s Demoso Township was hit by a series of explosions on Thursday, according to local resistance sources.

The base, located near the village of Ngwe Taung, is believed to have suffered extensive damage after an artillery shell fired by anti-regime groups hit the base’s armoury, the sources said.

“KNDF Battalion 9 fired a 60mm shell at the base and I think it hit their armoury. Consecutive explosions have been going off and the base is on fire,” an officer of the Karenni Nationalities Defence Force (KNDF) told Myanmar Now on Thursday.

The incident occurred at around 1:30pm, after several hours of fighting that began early in the day, according to another KNDF officer.

The resistance forces, who also included troops from the Karenni Army and the People’s Defence Force, used continuous artillery fire to prevent junta troops from putting out the fire at the base, he added.

In a statement, the KNDF accused IB 102 of shelling residential neighbourhoods in the area on an almost daily basis.

The group initially reported on its social media page that it didn’t know what caused the explosions. It later claimed responsibility after looking into the matter, it said.

Last month, the regime sent hundreds of reinforcements to the town of Demoso, located some 4km west of Ngwe Taung on the opposite side of the Ngwe Taung dam.

In recent weeks, troops stationed in the area have concentrated their efforts on taking control of Moebye, a town in southern Shan State’s Pekhon Township less than 25km north of Demoso.

An initial attempt to occupy the town failed when resistance forces inflicted heavy casualties on a junta column that had stationed itself in a local church.

A week after being forced to retreat, the military returned last Sunday, displacing almost the entire population of the town of nearly 30,000 inhabitants.

Days earlier, artillery fired by regime forces to clear the area killed four displaced civilians in Moebye, including two young sisters sheltering at a local monastery.