An estimated eight Myanmar regime soldiers, including a major who was an acting battalion commander, were killed in Myawaddy Township, Karen State, according to the Cobra Column, which took part in the fighting.
On Wednesday afternoon clashes occurred between resistance groups and troops from Infantry Battalion 8 and Light Infantry Battalion 207, who were trying to reach around 30 injured soldiers from Tuesday’s fighting at Thone Htat Kwe on the Myawaddy-Waw Lay road.
Approximately 120 regime soldiers were defeated on Tuesday and a battalion commander and his deputy were killed, Cobra said.
The resistance group is fighting alongside the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) in Karen State. The KNLA is an armed wing of the Karen National Union, along with the Karen National Defense Organization (KNDO).
The Myawaddy-Waw Lay road has reportedly been controlled by Cobra since March and is required to send reinforcements to the junta’s major Ukayit Hta outpost in Waw Lay and needed to recapture the Thay Baw Boe outpost, which was seized by resistance groups on May 18.
“At least eight regime soldiers were killed, including a major. The fighting has stopped. Reinforcements are arriving so heavy fighting will start again soon,” Myo Thura Ko Ko of the Cobra Column told The Irrawaddy on Friday.
He said a resistance fighter was lightly injured. The Irrawaddy could not verify the casualty figures.
Regime forces fired shells during Wednesday’s fighting but could not call in airstrikes because the fighting was close to the Thai border. The junta recently had to apologize to Bangkok after a fighter jet crossed about 4km into Thai air space in Tak province on June 30 while bombing to defend the Ukayit Hta outpost.
Cobra released photos of dead bodies and seized weapons, including 705 bullets, rocket-propelled grenades, three hand grenades and two 60mm shells, on Wednesday.
Cobra fights with the KNLA and the Venom Column is associated with the KNDO, which has been trying to seize the Ukayit Hta outpost since June 26. Fighting continues at the outpost.
On July 8, Cobra said it killed five regime soldiers, including a Light Infantry captain, who were en route to reinforce the outpost.
On Monday Cobra said five regime soldiers had defected. In videos, the deserters say they are in their late teens and early 20s and were previously deployed in Rakhine State.
More than 1,000 Waw Lay residents had fled across the Moei River to Thailand by June 30 due to the fighting, according to a rescue team in the Thai border town of Mae Sot.
