Resistance forces capture five army trucks in attack on junta convoy near Dawei

Anti-regime forces say they captured five military trucks loaded with weapons and ammunition during an ambush carried out near the Tanintharyi Region capital Dawei on Wednesday. The attack targeted a convoy of 17 vehicles that was also carrying around 200 junta troops from Military Operations Command No. 8, based in Dawei, the resistance forces said. The convoy was hit near the village of Wa Kone, about 18 miles east of Dawei on the road to the Thai border, prompting a series of airstrikes on Wednesday and Thursday, according to residents. “The situation is very tense right now. They bombarded this area the whole day today,” said local resident Phyo Ko Ko, speaking to Myanmar Now on Thursday. Video of the aftermath of the ambush showed resistance fighters counting bodies scattered around the captured vehicles. One can be heard saying that 18 dead soldiers had been found at the site. A resistance fighter who did not want to be named said that seven members of the allied anti-junta armed groups responsible for the attack had also been killed, while another three were injured. The attack was led by Saw Moo Gay, the commander of Battalion 27 of the Karen National Liberation Army’s (KNLA) Brigade 6, and was joined by KNLA Brigade 4’s Battalion 12, as well as troops under the command of the shadow National Unity Government’s Ministry of Defence and local resistance groups. There were reports that a number of regime troops remained pinned down in the area and were attempting to escape by disguising themselves as civilians or resistance fighters. It is believed that the military is attempting to use its airstrikes to clear a path for the soldiers to escape, according to the resistance fighter who spoke to Myanmar Now. “They drop four or five bombs at a time. They carried out three strikes today,” he said on Thursday, adding that it was still unknown if there were any civilian casualties from the attacks. Resistance forces regularly target convoys on the strategically important road from Dawei to Htee Khee, a village on the Thai-Myanmar border. Wednesday’s attack was likely the deadliest, said the resistance fighter.

Resistance forces capture five army trucks in attack on junta convoy near Dawei

At least 18 regime soldiers were killed in the ambush, making it the deadliest so far in southern Myanmar’s Tanintharyi Region

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