December 9th, 2021
No.1 Brigade (Thaton District) under the Karen National Union (KNU) issued a warning letter dated December 1st, urging the public to be cautious as members of the Border Guard Force (BGF) under the military council are carrying out more military activities in Hpa-An Township in Karen State.
Saw Lwan Moe Naing, Secretary of the Information Division of the KNU’s Thaton District said: “The BGF is stationed in the township. As the BGF members are more active than before, the public are allowed to travel from 6 am to 6 pm. We cannot know who is who. The people shall get inspected. The warning letter was uploaded on social media two days in advance. On December 6th, the warning letters were distributed in the village tracts. The KNU will meet village administrators to explain about the situation.”
In the letter, the KNU said the public are allowed to travel from 6 am to 6 pm. The public need to pull down car windows when they travel by cars in the Brigade-1 in Hpa-An Township.
The public are requested to accept the inspections when they travel by cars, motorbikes and vessels. The public are requested to contact officials in case of emergency.
In the letter, the KNU (Hap-An Township) has warned that it would not take any responsibility for the problems if the people fail to abide by the rules.
There is more intense fighting between the military council’s troops and the Brigades under the KNU in most of the KNU-Controlled areas after the coup. Since the coup till date, the KNU’s Brigade Nos-1, 2, 3 and 5 have seen more military activities by the BGF and the military council.
According to the statement issued by the KNU on December 4th, there were 206 clashes between a combined force of the military council’s troops and the BGF and the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) and the Karen National Defense Organization (KNDO) in November, killing 190 soldiers of the military council and the BGF members and injuring 159.
Among those killed in the fighting are one battalion commander, one deputy battalion commander, four captains and two corporals and among those injured in the fighting are a battalion commander, three company commanders and one lieutenant. Seven members of the KNLA and the KNDO were killed and ten injured in the fighting.
Due to the indiscriminate shootings by the military council’s troops and the BGF and the mines planted on the roads, one civilian was killed and seven others injured, according to the statement.
Sent by the KIC.