The Karen National Union (KNU) announces that there are 194 deaths and more than 200 injured from the Military Council troop in clashes with KNU armed wing within more than a month.

According to a statement of KNU issued on May 5, “from March 27 to May 5, 2021, there were 407 clashes between the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) and the Military Council troop except the seizure of the Military Council outposts. From the Military Council troop, there are 194 personals including one Colonel, one Lieutenant Colonel, a Captain, a Lt. Captain, a Major and an officer were killed and 220 soldiers have been injured.”

The local residents have been killed and injured by the airstrike and artillery firing by the Military Council troop.

“The airstrike and artillery firing by the Military Council troop have killed 14 civilians and injured 28 civilians,” according to the KNU statement.  

The intense fighting continues in KNU Brigade 5, Brigade 1, Brigade 3 while the fighting is also taking place in Brigade 2, Brigade 4, Brigade 6 and Brigade 7 with the Military Council troops.

According to the statement of the KNU, the Military Council troops fired 575 motors into the villages, the farms, the gardens and the hill-side cultivation of civilians’ livelihood, meanwhile, the Military Council troops launched 27 airstrikes and dropped 47 bombs in more than a month of time.

In addition, the Military Council troops confiscated foodstuffs such as rice, oil, salt and more than 500,000 million kyat from the local residents, as mentioned in the KNU statement.

Tensions and clashes erupted between the Military Council troops and Ethnic Armed Organizations (EAOs) following the military coup on February 1.

At present, in Kachin, Karen, and Northern Shan State, the fighting with the Military Council and the EAOs have been taken place intensely.