Winye, August (25)
KNU spokesperson Pado Saw Taw Ni responded that there was no other option but to resist the military council’s offensive, which used excessive force by air and army forces in the territory of the KNU’s 6 Brigade of Kawthoolei area (Dooplaya District).
The military council has been attacking with excessive force, as well as airstrikes and mortar shelling using various heavy weapons, in the territory of the 6th Brigade of Dooplaya District during the past few days.
Among the troops active in Brigade 6 are 18 battalions in total: 17 battalions under 11st Division, the 22nd Division, 44th Division, and one Battalion of the Border Guard Force (BGF) and there are other unidentified battalions, the KNU said.
Due to the military council’s offensive, fierce fighting broke out between the military council and the KNLA in the vicinity of the 18th and 27th battalions in the KNU’s Kawkayeik Township. The most intense fighting occurred in the areas where the Cobra Column under the 27th battalion took security.
In the battle that took place on August 23, the military council attacked with cluster bombs and 500-pound bombs from the air, as well as on the ground with multiple launch rocket system.
“There is no other option but to defend. I strongly believe that we will be able to break the offensive no matter how many forces they use,” Pado Saw Taw Ni said.
From August 1 to August 20, 33 clashes took place in the Dooplaya District of the KNU between the KNLA Brigade 6 and the BGF troops of the military council.
The fighting left 48 junta soldiers dead and 80 others injured, while two KNLA comrades were killed and 16 were wounded, the KNU reported.
In addition, KNU reported that one civilian was killed and more than 90,000 people were forced to flee to shelters due to the military council’s indiscriminate shooting and airstrikes in the Brigade 6 area.
News – Than Lwin Times
