(CHINDWIN): Amid the increasingly rising fighting between the junta army and anti-junta resistance armed groups across the country, a new report has emerged that nearly 200 junta soldiers, including mid-rank officers, have surrendered to the ethnic Karen National Union (KNU) and People Defense Forces based in Karen, according to People’s Spring citing an official from KNU.
Only in the territory under the direct control of Brigade 6 of the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), the source from KNU said over 90 junta soldiers surrendered to KNU, which is the equivalent of the amount of one column.
On 21 October, numerous reports confirmed that 32 junta soldiers, including those of the Border Guard Force (BGF), have surrendered to the KNU after intense fighting near Kawkareik town in Karen state.
Pado Saw Taw Nee, a spokesperson of the Karen National Union, confirmed to Karen media that there had been more than 6,000 clashes with the junta regime’s security forces since the military seized power in February 2021.
As a result of clashes, the junta regime has been inflicted heavily, resulting in a large number of the junta soldiers being arrested alive and defecting to KNU like it never happened before.