At least eight junta soldiers were killed in heavy fighting with local resistance forces in eastern Demoso township, Kayah State on Wednesday, according to local media.
The Karenni Information Center (KnIC) reported that that one junta soldier was also captured by combined forces of the Karenni Army (KA) and Karenni Nationalities Defense Forces (KNDF) on Wednesday at around 1 pm.
KNDF said they seized weapons and ammunition in two days of clashes.
“Fighting is still ongoing near Daw Ngay Khu village and we seized many weapons and ammunition on April 16 and 17,” a KNDF spokesman said.
A Karenni Army member was reportedly killed in the clashes. The number of casualties among regime troops remains unclear as fighting is continuing in Demoso township.
Clashes also continued in Demoso’s neighboring Shan State townships of Pekon and Pinlaung, where more than 6,000 civilians have fled since early March according to local sources.
On Sunday, the junta launched three airstrikes against eastern Demoso, where three detachments of regime troops have been advancing since February.
“We have been assaulted by regular bombing and shelling by junta troops. They conducted three airstrikes that destroyed a hospital in eastern Demoso on April 16,” the KNDF spokesman said.
A jet fighter also dropped two bombs near a camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) on Sunday. However, the bombs failed to detonate and no casualties were reported.
Another regime airstrike killed two medical workers and wounded three other civilians on April 7.
KNDF said that at least 102 clashes broke out in eastern Demoso and the neighboring townships of Pekon and Pinlaung in southern Shan state in March, killing 281 regime troops and wounding 80.
At least 228 houses, two Buddhist monasteries, and three schools were destroyed in the area by regime troops in March.
