Two members of a coalition force of Karenni resistance fighters were killed early Tuesday morning after coming under heavy artillery fire while attacking a military outpost in Karenni (Kayah) State’s Hpruso Township.
The combined force of fighters from the Karenni Nationalities Defense Force (KNDF) and the Karenni Army (KA) retreated after Si Moe Nel (also known as Aung Naing) and Peter John, both from KNDF Battalion 1, were killed during the assault on the outpost in the village of Kadalar.
A troop member who was involved in the battle told Myanmar Now that the KNDF and the KA—the armed wing of the Karenni National Progressive Party—launched the attack at around 3am.
Fighting continued for five hours, until the Karenni fighters were forced to retreat because they had been outgunned, he said.
“We failed to occupy the outpost. They started shelling us from their Artillery Battalion 102. We still don’t know the number of casualties on the military council’s side,” he added.
He also claimed that there were many soldiers stationed at the outpost, but Myanmar Now was unable to verify this information.
Tuesday’s clash marks the first time since the KNDF and the KA joined forces in mid-July that the Karenni resistance forces have acknowledged the loss of any of their own troops. The only fatalities reported during previous clashes were on the side of the regime’s forces.
Local armed resistance groups started clashing with the military in Demoso Township on May 21. On June 15, after thousands of local civilians were displaced, the two sides entered into a ceasefire agreement at the request of religious leaders.
The ceasefire lasted about a month, until the KNDF joined the KA as it engaged regime forces near the village of Nan Phe in Bawlakhe Township on July 16.
Local resistance groups claim they have killed hundreds of junta troops in recent months. They also accuse the military of killing at least 90 civilians.
More than 100,000 civilians in Karenni State and Pekhon Township in southern Shan State remain displaced due to the conflict.
