
At least 16 resistance members were killed in a flash flood while undergoing training in western Demoso Township, Karenni (Kayah) State on Thursday evening, spokespersons for the Karenni Army (KA) said.
“They were holding a training for field medics in a valley when rapid runoff water from the nearby hills flooded the streambed where they were working,” said Col. Phone Naing, the adjutant general of the KA.
Among the victims caught and carried off in the floodwaters were members of the Karenni Nationalities Defence Force (KNDF), which operates under the KA, and the People’s Defence Forces (PDF), the armed wing of the publicly mandated National Unity Government.
The floodwaters reportedly swept away 18 people, of whom 16 are confirmed to have drowned. The remaining two are missing, but the resistance groups have yet to recover their bodies.
The waters of the Pun Chaung Creek, where the training. . .