Heavy fighting was reported to have erupted earlier today at a Myanmar army outpost near the country’s eastern border with Thailand. The area is largely controlled by forces of the Karen National Union (KNU), who claimed to have seized an army outpost at around 5 AM to 6 AM local time.
Villagers across the Salween river in Thailand said that heavy gunfire began before sunrise and videos posted on social media showed flames and smoke on the wooded hillside. Padoh Saw Taw Nee, the KNU’s head of foreign affairs said that the army camp had been occupied and burned down and that the KNU was still assessing the deaths and casualties. While Myanmar’s army, also known as the Tatmadaw, made no immediate comment following the capture of its outpost, the KNU official added that there had been fighting in other locations too, but did not reveal any additional details.
“There has been heavy fighting at the Myanmar army outpost opposite Mae Sam Laep... Our security officials are assessing the situation but so far there has been no report of impact on the Thai side,” a provincial official from the northwestern Thai town of Mae Hong Son told Reuters.
Myanmar’s several armed groups, such as the KNU, have supported opponents of the military junta, whose forces have now killed more than 750 civilians since the military coup took place on February 1. Tuesday’s fighting is one of the most intense incidents of clashes between ethnic and government forces since the putsch earlier this year. Local media also reported that the military shot and killed a man and a woman in Mandalay on Monday evening, while injuring a few others. The incidents come just days after a summit between ASEAN leaders and junta leader Min Aung Hlaing, wherein the officials reached a consensus on ceasing violence immediately and commencing constructive dialogue to seek a peaceful solution in the interests of the people.
The Southeast Asian nation has spiralled into crisis since February, when Myanmar’s military forcefully seized control of the government for one year and imprisoned many high-level politicians, including State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and President U Win Myint. The coup was attributed to the failure of the government to act on the military’s questionable claims of voter fraud in the election conducted last November when the National League for Democracy (NLD) won in a landslide victory with 83% of the votes. As a result of the election result, the military saw the NLD as eroding its own influence and sought to brutally reinforce its dominance.
Karen Forces Announce Capture of Myanmar Army Post After Heavy Fighting
On early Tuesday in Myanmar, the Karen National Union announced that it had captured an army post after heavy fighting. This comes just days after ASEAN leaders resolved to end violence in the country
April 27, 2021
SOURCE: AFP/KC ORTIZ