Four soldiers of Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) have been killed and one civilian is missing after they were taken into custody by the Tatmadaw at the group’s 7-Mile outpost in the Kayah (Karenni) State, according to KNPP secretary Khu Daniel.
Around 60 Tatmadaw troops surrounded the KNPP’s position, which is located near Loikaw on the road to Shadaw, after the a convoy of Tatmadaw vehicles allegedly containing illegal timber passed the outpost on December 19.
The KNPP lost contact with its four soldiers stationed at the outpost on December 20, according to the KNPP’s liaison office in Loikaw. The following day, group was informed that the soldiers were dead after requesting information from the Tatmadaw’s Regional Operations Command (Loikaw). The Tatamdaw Regional Operations Command (ROC) told the KNPP that the four soldiers died at the site in the incident.
But according to Khu Daniel, who confirmed that the soldiers were dead on December 22, the Tatmadaw had already cremated the soldiers’ bodies and returned their funeral urns to the KNPP. When the KNPP inspected the 7-Mile outpost site, they found no trace of a conflict or of a cremation.
“We feel that this is unfair. If they died in a skirmish, there would have been casualties. The military has its own law. They have no right to kill anyone who comes out without defending himself. In my opinion, they have breached their own law,” Khu Daniel said.
The owner of a shop near the outpost confirmed that there were no sounds of gunfire in the area on December 19 and 20, the Kantarawaddy Times reported.
Kayah State Minister of Security and Border Affairs Col. Myint Wai declined to address the issue to the Kantarawaddy Times.
“The Tatmadaw and the state chief minister and the KNPP will negotiate the issue between themselves and resume their regular activities,” he said.
On December 19, KNPP soldiers at the outpost stopped a convoy of Tatmadaw vehicles, after hearing reports from local residents that the Tatmadaw was transporting lumber along with food supplies to its battalions. According to the Irrawaddy, the KNPP soldiers found illegal timber hidden among the food supplies of around 10 vehicles, which reached the outpost at around 5:00p.m. on December 19, but they permitted the convoy to pass. At 9:00p.m. that evening, Tatmadaw troops from the ROC raided the outpost, seizing it on December 20, Khu Daniel said.
“Everyone feels sad about this. It should not happen like this. If they were killed while fighting on the battlefield, let’s say that is okay. But it was not fair to arrest them and then kill them,” Khu Daniel told the Irrawaddy.
The 7-Mile outpost has been used as a highway inspection point to catch illegal timber and drugs trade since the KNPP signed a state-level ceasefire agreement with the government in 2012.
