The Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) and the Karen National Defense Organization (KNDO) jointly captured the military junta’s Light Infantry Battalion (LIB)-913 on 16 December in the Manerplaw area which is under the KNU Brigade 7 territory, confirmed Padoh Saw Kler Say, spokesperson of the Karen National Union (KNU).
The KNU spokesperson said that they launched the attack with an unwavering determination to clear all junta camps from their Manerplaw area, ultimately succeeding in capturing the LIB-913 in the area.
“We can now confirm the capture of the junta camp. We achieved this through the intense efforts of our troops, driven by a strong resolve to completely eliminate the junta camps from our territory. Although we don’t have all the details yet, the situation looks promising,” he said.
Some local media outlets, quoting military sources, have reported that almost all military council personnel at the camp were killed during the attack, though Padoh Saw Kler Say said that this cannot be independently verified.
According to military sources, the joint KNLA forces had been attacking the LIB-913 using guerrilla tactics, including drones, cutting off supply routes except for air routes, which resulted in casualties on the military council’s side even before the final capture of the camp.
The sources also mentioned that on 14 December, the junta fired at positions suspected of harboring joint KNLA forces while resupplying their camp by air.
In the Manerplaw area, the military junta previously had several camps including LIB-913, Noet Day, Hpu Law Kone, Kasaw Wah Lay, Point 560, Gal Gaw Kyoe, Htan Thay Gi, Htan Hti Hta, and Htoo Paw.
Following the abandonment of the Kasaw Wah Lay camp by junta troops on 1 November, who then joined LIB-913, the camp’s strength grew to around 100 personnel before its ultimate capture.
Sent by KIC.