Kaowao
March 25 morning time
The joint military alliance comprise of four groups including NMSP-AD had launch attacked on police station base in Kawhbein village near NMSP administration base in Kawkareik township border of Karen State and Mon State, the junta force side use navy tanks, drones and helicopters to help the police station. “I just now saw a drone from the junta force to help the station and flew back,” one local witness from around the area said.
The alliance force is using two drones to attack the station and two navy ships patrolling in Gyaineriver. The police station, sitting very close to the village and the joint force surrounding it, demanded surrender and set a white flag. The policemen and junta military force from the station used sniper guns to defend the station and the gun exchange was going on until 10 pm local time.
The air strikes using helicopters, navy tanks and drones are the main source of support protecting the station from falling to the enemy.
The local reliable source said that the police base will hopefully fall into the alliance force soon. The alliance forces, what the local resident estimated, are about four hundred troops and a drone force. The drone force task is to target navy ships to weaken the enemy and to drop bombs on the police station.
The PDF force leaders are from local residents and they have wanted to attack the police station since a long time ago, said a local Mon businessman who requested not to be named.
A US citizen who is close friends with the local PDF leaders said that he and his friends in the US have supported the local PDF financially since the start.
One of the NMSP-AD captains who participated in this offensive is from Kawhbein town too.
The local Mon residents who live in the Kawkareik township, Karen State have a long history of supporting ethnic Mon and Karen armed groups since world war two.
This offensive is targeted along the river to the motor road connecting Mawlamyine, Mon State and Pa-an, Karen State.
According to the sources, one residential home was damaged by helicopter strikes and one religious building was hit, but no one dared to confirm the real damage. Some say that one man was wounded from the navy strike.
The local people know the NMSP-AD soldiers who were serving in the NMSP administration base nearby. This is the first time that local people see NMSP-AD combat soldiers along with its Karen and PDF allies in the front line. One monk said that he talked to the Karen armed leader while staying in his temple before gunfire broke out.
This time local Mon supports the alliance group because of NMSP-AD forces involved in the alliance group. There are about 58 Mon villages in Karen State and most of them are sitting along Gyaing river.
The NMSP-AD high ranking leaders said that the junta extra ground force came to help with a hundred troops and the police station could not fall easily. They think that this offensive could be one of the main operations.
As the battle field is not far from East Command or Mon State capital Mawlamyine, the junta’s force side will hope to use many means to defend itself.
This location is sitting along Asia highway between Burma and Thailand and the fighting could cause more impacts on the business trade.
The other allies force in the border town of Three Pagoda Pass had launched attacks on the border gate last week March 15 and the trade between the two countries could cause more impact.
As the arm conflict in Mon State, Karen State and Tanesserim Division that cover the whole part of the southern part of the country intensifies rapidly, neighboring Thailand media are reporting more stories that affect their country’s security and economy. The trade between the two countries could derail more and could cause more worries to the Thai business community.
The story of hundreds of illegal migrants arrested in Thailand can be heard very often in nearly every week.
The local monk communities are worried about their temple’s safety during arm clashes. Both sides used the dense population villages during the conflict. “I don’t dare to tell them not to come to my temple,” said a Mon Monk from Kauk Kyaik village.
As an arm clash broke out along the motor road of Rommavatoi from Kawkbein to Taranar (Krorlnar in Mon), local people couldn’t get out of their homes.
