The Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA armed wing of the Karen National Union (KNU), led a joint attack on the Military Council’s Mel Kha Hta Camp, situated on the banks of the Thanlwin (Salween) River in the Mutraw (Hpapon) District of the KNU, on March 28th. During the attack, 16 soldiers of the Military Council were killed, and 7 others were wounded, according to KNU-Mutraw District News.

Five of the wounded Military Council troops managed to flee across the Thanlwin River into Thai territory. The Royal Thai Army is currently transporting them to nearby hospitals for treatment, the report also stated.

The battle to take over the Mel Kha Hta Camp started at around 5:00 am on March 28th and lasted only 45 minutes. After the battle, the KNLA and joint forces confiscated a total of 23 weapons, including MA-1 rifles, MA-2 machine guns, RPG-7 rocket- propelled grenade launchers, 60-mm mortars, light machine guns and sniper rifles, along with 3360 rounds of ammunition. Additionally, they seized 2 communication devices, 2 walkie-talkies, 2 mobile phones, and other equipment.

The battle resulted in the death of one comrade and left 8 others injured from the joint forces of the KNLA and the Force for Federal Democracy (FFD), the KNU announced.

Mel Kha Hta Camp, a former military outpost of the KNLA is situated in the area where the 20th Battalion of the KNLA is currently deployed. The camp fell into the hands of the Myanmar Military in 1995 during a fierce assault when Manerplaw, (the former headquarters of the KNU), and was taken over by the Junta Army.

In the years following the coup, this is not the first time that the KNLA has successfully attacked and occupied the Military Council’s military camps along the banks of the Thanlwin River. Notably the Thee Mu Htar Camp in 2021 and Kyaukhnyat Camp in 2022 were both targeted and overtaken by the KNLA, marking previous instances of their effectiveness in combat.