Resistance forces intercept junta convoy, seize military trucks in Karenni State

A resistance alliance seized two military trucks and multiple weapons from a junta convoy that they ambushed in Karenni (Kayah) State’s Hpruso Township over a period of three days last week, the groups reported.

The Karenni Nationalities Defence Force (KNDF) and the Karenni Army started a series of attacks on vehicles within the 28-vehicle convoy, which was bringing military supplies from Bawlakhe to Hpruso, on May 31.

A junta column marching on foot ahead of the vehicles in order to secure the route for the trucks clashed with the guerrilla forces in Hpruso’s Htar Le village that day. Several soldiers were reportedly killed in the six-hour battle, according to KNDF information officer Khu Reedu.

The next day, the convoy in question was attacked for a second time near Law Kyay Khu village, three miles from Htar Le, and again in the same location on June 2 in a day-long clash in which the junta launched multiple airstrikes at around 3pm.

Khu Reedu explained that the KNDF and Karenni Army blocked the road ahead before launching the attacks, cutting off some vehicles from the larger unit. “The two trucks that we managed to seize were the ones that were catching up with the convoy… As they retreated, we drove two of their trucks back to our base,” he said.

The KNDF spokesperson added that the junta abandoned multiple vehicles which they had placed on the highway in an attempt to stop the resistance forces’ advances. “Some of the trucks that they used to block the road were destroyed but there wasn’t anyone inside them. I think they went and hid somewhere more secure,” he said.

The Karenni Army and KNDF coalition also attacked a junta convoy of 39 vehicles heading towards Bawlakhe on the same highway on May 22.

Junta forces have also been carrying out assaults on Karenni villages in southern Shan State since last month, including those along the eastern shores of Pekhon Lake, as well as Ma Hkay Hkam, Saung Nang Khae and Nang Paw Lon, all located along the military’s route into neighboring Karenni State.

Similar attacks have been occurring in Demoso Township, the KNDF reported, with the military occupying the village of Daw Ngan Khar.

Some 61 battles took place between the KNDF and the military in May, according to a statement released by the group on June 2. Some five troops were taken prisoner and 107 believed to have been killed, the report said.

SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES