The Myanmar military lost two border bases in Karen State on Monday after resistance raids in Kyainseikgyi Township, according to Karen resistance fighters.
Heavy clashes erupted in the township on Saturday when the resistance group Lion Battalion Commando and the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), the armed wing of the Karen National Union (KNU), attacked bases of the junta-allied Border Guard Force (BGF) on the Payathonzu road, close to the border with Thailand, according to Lion Battalion Commando and local media.
On Monday, two out of the three BGF outposts in Kyainseikgyi Township were captured, claimed Lion Battalion Commando. Heavy fighting continued to occur in the area until Tuesday as Karen resistance forces attempted to capture the remaining BGF base.
There were many military regime casualties in the clashes. The junta also conducted several airstrikes in an attempt to defend the bases.
Around six resistance fighters were reportedly killed in the fighting. Four residents of Taung Soon Village were also injured by junta airstrikes.
Some 3,000 residents of villages in the area have fled to the forest and have been suffering from food shortages for days, according to the Karen Information Center, a local media outlet.
Clashes between regime forces and Karen resistance groups have been ongoing in Kawkareik and Kyainseikgyi townships, the territory of the KNLA’s Brigade 6, for two weeks.
Between December 22 and 28, there were 11 firefights in KNU territory between junta forces and the KNLA and the Karen National Defense Organization, the other armed wing of the KNU. Some 56 regime soldiers were killed in the clashes and 40 injured, said the KNU.
Regime troops carried out artillery and airstrikes on two villages for days during the clashes, killing a Buddhist monk. Five other people, including three monks, were injured.
Myanmar junta forces are currently facing near-daily attacks from resistance groups and ethnic armed organizations across the country.
