The Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) and allied forces successfully attacked a military council reinforcement column near Nat Eain Mountain camp in the Thai-Myanmar border area of Yayphyu Township, Tanintharyi Region. According to an official statement from the Karen National Union’s Myeik-Dawei District, the operation resulted in the death of four military council soldiers, including Major Aung Ko Hein, while four others were captured alive along with seized weapons and ammunition.
On July 14 and 15, combined forces from KNLA Brigade 4, Brigade 6, and Special Operation Force 2 systematically pursued and attacked a military column comprising five battalions from the military council’s Coastal Region Command based in Kaleinaung. The military column had been attempting to enter the Nat Eain Mountain area. During the engagement, resistance forces successfully captured four military council soldiers alive and seized their weapons and ammunition. The operation demonstrated the growing capabilities of resistance forces in conducting coordinated military operations.
Among the four captured soldiers, one had sustained severe injuries during the battle. In a revealing display of the military council’s treatment of its own forces, other military council troops forcibly took back the injured soldier’s weapon but abandoned him with his wounds, making no attempt to rescue their comrade. The KNLA and allied forces, adhering to humanitarian principles, carried the wounded soldier for many miles to provide necessary medical treatment. They continue to care for him in accordance with international conventions regarding prisoners of war, highlighting the stark contrast between the treatment of captured personnel by both sides.
The wounded soldier later conveyed a message to remaining military council troops, revealing the harsh realities within the military. He emphasized that soldiers’ lives are considered expendable, with wounded personnel routinely abandoned during battles. He advised other military council members to defect to revolutionary forces and the public side when opportunities arise, as this would be their best option. Earlier, on July 11 and 12, similar operations against the same military column had resulted in the death of four soldiers, including Unit Commander Major Aung Ko Hein, with resistance forces seizing two firearms. The military council’s Coastal Region Command had deployed five battalions – Infantry Battalions 273, 282, and Light Infantry Battalions 408, 409, and 410 – in an attempt to advance into the Nat Eain Mountain area since early July, demonstrating the strategic importance of the region in ongoing conflict.
