Junta attacks KNU headquarters in Karen State's Hpa-an

By Admin 22 Oct 2024

DMG Newsroom
22 October 2024, Sittwe

Myanmar's military regime attacked the Karen National Union (KNU) Brigade 7 headquarters in Kayin (Karen) State's Hpa-an Township with a drone on Tuesday, according to sources on the ground. 

The regime used the drone to drop four bombs at around 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, but there were no casualties, said one source.

"The regime dropped four bombs. Buildings near a clinic were damaged. There were no casualties," said the source.

The base is also the headquarters of the KNU and its armed wings, the Karen National Liberation Army and the Karen National Defense Organization. The attack was the first since the 2021 coup.

The territory controlled by KNU Brigade 7 in Hpa-an District has barely seen any clashes, although the KNU has fought the regime in other parts of Kayin State following the coup.

The regime has heavily relied on air and artillery attacks due to shortages of ground troops while increasingly using drones.

KNU foreign department head Padoh Mann Ba Tun said in an interview with Myanmar Now that the regime wanted to threaten the KNU by targeting its headquarters.

The drone attack followed the recent seizure of a junta artillery base near Lay Kay Kaw Town, south of Myawaddy in Kayin State, by the KNLA and its allies.