A battle broke out between the 6th Brigade of the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) and its joint forces, and the Military Council troops stationed in the police station compound of Taung Kalay village in Kyaikmaraw township of Mon State.

An officer of KNLA’s 6th Brigade confirmed to KIC that ten Military Council soldiers were eliminated during the gunfight, and a 60mm mortar, three MA 2 guns, two M16 rifles, an AK rifle, and a medium-sized machine gun were seized and also three grenades.

The Karen National Liberation Army officer who fought in the battle described what happened. “Then the warplanes arrived, so we couldn’t completely capture the police compound. But we were able to seize 8 different guns and ammunition. There were 12 soldiers guarding the compound - 10 of them died and 2 escaped. Our comrades were not harmed”, the KNLA official who fought in the battle told KIC.

However a local source told KIC that a revolutionary fighter was killed in the battle.The battle took place from 5:00 AM to 11:00 AM, and the Military Council sent 2 helicopters and a jet fighter to bomb the village. In addition, artillery battalions based in Abit village and Mudon township pounded the Taung Kalay village with artillery barrages.

These airstrikes and artillery bombardments inflicted damage on a religious building and residential houses. Three civilians were killed and around 10 people were injured, said volunteers helping those fleeing the war.

“One died on the market road in the middle of the village. Another was hit by bullets and killed while returning home from a rubber plantation. A young woman was also reported dead. About 10 people were injured. More than 20 houses were damaged, and the village monastery was also destroyed”, a Taung Kalay villager told KIC.

After the coup, the Military Council forces were using the Taung Kalay police station as a supply depot to transport weapons and food to the front line.