Myanmar junta troops suffered heavy casualties during ambushes by revolutionary forces on the Don Tha Mi bridge checkpoints on the border of Karen and Mon states on Thursday, according to resistance fighters.
The Coalition of Revolution Alliance Force, Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), the armed wing of the Karen National Union (KNU), and other resistance groups ambushed two checkpoints in Durian Seik village, Thaton Township, on Thursday, killing 45 regime soldiers and police officers and injuring 19, according to the coalition.
The coalition is based in Hpa-An Township and was formed by the KNU.
A spokesman for the coalition said it used mines against junta reinforcements heading to the bridge.
“They suffered heavy casualties. We attacked the two checkpoints on the bridge on both the Karen and Mon sides. We also attacked a convoy coming from Hpa-An,” he told The Irrawaddy.
A coalition fighter and a member of the KNLA were killed and another injured during the clashes, he added.
The Don Tha Mi bridge is on the Asian Highway and is key to connecting Mon and Karen states.
On Friday resistance groups and the KNLA ambushed the Kyainseikgyi police station and junta offices in Karen State. Around 10 junta soldiers were reportedly killed and 15 injured, according to the civilian National Unity Government’s defense ministry.
During the clashes, regime troops shelled civilian targets, including a religious building, killing four civilians. A novice monk was also injured, according to Kyainseikgyi Township People’s Administration Organization.
Three children were injured by a regime airstrike on civilian targets on Friday morning.
Revolutionary forces withdrew after a regime Mi-35 helicopter attacked the town.
A Kyainseikgyi resident told The Irrawaddy: “No one dared to go out because the fighting was fierce. The military tightened security in the town after the clashes “
Frequent clashes have broken out in Kyainseikgyi Township since last year. Martial law was imposed in the township in February. Resistance forces ambushed the Payathonzu police station in the township on the Thai border in February.
