Kayah State resistance forces claim to have killed at least 110 Myanmar junta troops, including two battalion commanders, and captured 38 soldiers during two days of attacks at Loikaw University in the state capital.
Six resistance fighters were killed in the attacks, which are part of Operation 1111, the Karenni Nationalities Defense Force (KNDF) said.
The Karenni Army, KNDF, Karenni National People’s Liberation Front and People’s Defense Forces named Operation 1111 in Kayah State after its launch date, November 11.
On Tuesday, a key junta base at the university was seized by resistance forces, despite junta shelling and airstrikes, according to the KNDF.
“The battle was intense because junta troops retaliated with shelling and called in airstrikes. We finally captured the base with great difficulty after two days of fighting,” a group representative said.
He said 32 troops surrendered on Monday, adding that the 38 soldiers in custody were being treated in accordance with the Geneva Convention as prisoners of war.
KNDF photographs show a large number of seized weapons and ammunition.
At least 170 staff and their families from Loikaw University were safely evacuated, he said.
At least 20 junta outposts in Loikaw and Demoso townships and neighboring Pekon Township in southern Shan State have been captured since November 11, the KNDF said.
Clashes erupted in Moebye town, Pekon Township, on Tuesday.
Around 10,000 residents left Loikaw when the regime briefly opened roads on Wednesday.
“The roads are packed because people are escaping from junta shelling and bombing,” a volunteer said.
At least five airstrikes were reported in Loikaw, where approximately 30,000 residents remain with some sheltering in churches and monasteries, volunteers said.
The Karenni Human Rights Group claimed that at least 34 people, including five children, have been killed and 50 injured by junta shelling and airstrikes since November 11.
