Officials of the Local Defense Forces (LDFs) claimed that at least 13 members of the Military Council, including a battalion commander, were killed during the fighting in Myeik and Tanintharyi Townships on November 7th.
At around 7:00 AM on November 7, the three LDFs from Tanintharyi Region – The Tanintharyi Guerilla Force, the 2nd Battalion of Myeik District and Tanintharyi Yoma all joined forces and attacked the Military Council troops near Tamotchone Village and exchanged fire, a member of the alliance that fought in the battle said.
An official of an LDF said, “We ambushed a military column with land-mines yesterday and it was same unit that had also been hit by mines in Tonkha on November 6. We had been waited for them. They took suffered heavy casualties. We cannot say exactly how many of them died, but we can confirm that the battalion commander was slain”.
The Junta’s army suffered casualties after fierce fighting broke out between the Military Council troops and LDFs in 5 villages in Myeik and Tanintharyi.
Fighting between the Military Council and the local PDFs near Tonbyaw Village in Myeik Township continued until around 7:00 PM that day, but the exact number of casualties was unknown, LDF officials and residents said.
Since the morning of November 6, there have been frequent shootouts in Tamotchone, Tarplat and Banlamut Villages in Tanintharyi Township and Tonbyaw Village in Myeik Township.
At around 5:00 PM on November 6, LDFs conducted a mine attack near Tonkha Village in Tanintharyi Township on a 3-car Military Council convoy driving from Bokepyin towards Myeik. At that time, 10 Military Council troops were killed and more than 20 were injured, the LDF official said.
Locals said that LDFs arrested the administrative official of Banlamut Village, appointed by the Military Council, and shot him dead in the middle of the road. The slain administrative official was a member of the Pyu-Saw-Htee who was working as an informer for the Military Council. A villager said that the Military Council began shelling residential areas with artillery after the official was killed.
