Junta and KNLA forces clash in Kayin State’s Lay Kay Kaw

By DMG 07 Mar 2022

DMG Newsroom
7 March 2022, Sittwe

Fresh clashes erupted on March 7 between Myanmar junta forces and the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), the armed wing of the Karen National Union (KNU), after junta troops entered KNU territory.

Fighting broke out after a large number of regime forces approached a KNLA hilltop outpost in Lay Kay Kaw town, in Kayin State’s Myawaddy, on Monday morning. KNLA Brigade 6 is active in the area.

“The two sides clashed fiercely after a large number of junta troops marched to the hill this morning. Casualties are still unknown,” said a KNLA member.

Regime forces reportedly fired more than 50 artillery shells from a nearby hill during the fighting.

KNLA fighters also reportedly ambushed a junta convoy of more than 10 vehicles near Ingabo village in Mon State’s Kyaikto Township, heading to the state capital Mawlamyine, on Monday morning, according to an Ingabo resident. KNLA Brigade 3 is active in Kyaikto.

“I saw more than 10 junta vehicles around 9 a.m. The convoy was attacked with remote-detonated mines as they drove past the village. It was followed by an exchange of gunfire, and the fighting lasted for more than 30 minutes,” said the villager.

On March 2, a joint contingent of some 300 junta soldiers and junta-backed Karen State Border Guard Force fighters clashed with KNLA troops in Palu Lay-Rathaegu Cave adjacent to Lay Kay Kaw.