According to the Karen National Union (KNU), there have been 11,608 clashes between them and the Myanmar Army since the 2021 military coup, in which 10,741 military council soldiers were killed or injured.
Pado Saw Taw Nee, a member of the KNU’s Central Executive Committee and Foreign Affairs Department, said in a radio broadcast in November that the military council had suffered heavy casualties.
“If we look at the number of clashes since the 2021 military coup, there were 11,608 clashes until September 2023. These are just the figures up to September. We haven’t added October (figures) yet. 10,741 is the number of deaths we have caused on the terrorist military council side in the more than 10,000 clashes. And 7,779 others were injured. So in total there were 18,520 deaths on the military council side,” said Pado Saw Taw Nee.
In addition, Pado Saw Taw Nee said that 7,779 military council soldiers have also been injured in the fighting since the 2021 coup.
He estimated that the number of casualties suffered by the military regime in the past two years exceeds the strength of more than 20 battalions, based on the current troop structure of the Myanmar Army.
“This figure is staggering for the military council. And why? Because these days the military’s troop structure consists of ten battalions per division. Officially, a division should have 10,000 soldiers, but in reality there are only 3,000. But only 700 soldiers in each division are combat ready. We know that from our own experience. If you assume 700, the 18,520 losses we have caused equal 26 divisions,” said Pado Saw Taw Nee.
Therefore, the military council army can no longer send reinforcements to the fighting in northern Myanmar, nor can it increase the troops needed throughout the country, according to the KNU.
Since the military coup, there has been fierce fighting between the Myanmar army and the resistance forces. Numerous soldiers of the military council have been killed and injured in these battles, and their numerous outposts have also been captured by the resistance forces.
Sent by NMG.