Kyaw Oo, Myanmar Now
Nearly 100 junta troops were killed in northern Shan State’s Konkyan Township late last week after refusing to surrender, according to anti-regime forces.
In a statement released on Saturday, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) said that the soldiers were from a column of around 280 troops that had been fleeing attacks in the Kokang Self-Administered Zone since early in the week.
The column, made up of remnants of various units, included around 100 troops who had been on the run from the town of Konkyan since November 27, when they and their leader, a commander from Military Operations Command 16, fled to avoid being taken prisoner.
According to the MNDAA, its forces killed 20 regime troops in the Shee Shan area of southern Kokang region on November 30 and at least 70 more in the same area the following day.
A video obtained by Myanmar Now shows the bodies of numerous soldiers wearing Myanmar military insignia lying in pools of blood with their weapons still at their sides.
The MNDAA has also posted photographs on its social media accounts showing large quantities of seized weapons and ammunition.
This came just days after an entire junta battalion, including its commanding officer, surrendered to MNDAA forces on November 28.
In response, the military has been carrying out airstrikes throughout the region, targeting not only combat zones but also civilian areas.
On December 1, an aerial attack in Namkham Township killed at least one person and injured another five, according to the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), an ally of the MNDAA.
The group—which has also accused the regime of using chemical weapons—said that the military dropped cluster bombs on Namkham’s Nawng Sant ward at around 9:30pm.
The deceased victim was identified as Ba Oo, a man in his 30s who had been sheltering at a local monastery.
Namkham has been under TNLA control since early last month, with only one base to the east still manned by junta troops. According to locals, the soldiers stationed there have been firing heavy artillery into the town and continue to resist capture.
Junta airstrikes and artillery fire have killed at least 60 civilians and injured more than 100 in ethnic Ta’ang areas since the launch of an anti-regime offensive in late October, according to data compiled by the TNLA.