A train travelling from Thatno- to Bilin in Mon state, loaded with the Military Council’s weapons and ammunition was hit by a land-mine from the KNU’s armed wing (Karen National Union) at around 6:30 PM on December 13th. The KNU 1st Brigade confirmed that 24 Regime soldiers guarding the train were killed in the attack, carried out between Kali Kyun and Ka Mai Chai villages in Thaton district.

Two comrades of the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) under KNU 1st Brigade organized this precise mine attack on the train. The mine explosion destroyed a section of the railway line and 4 carriages. The regime forces took away the dead bodies overnight, a KNU Brigade 1 official said.

“The Military Council claimed it was a passenger train that was attacked “ which the KNU official denounced as a “ big lie.” He reported, “In fact the train was loaded with many weapons and a pile of ammunition. As far as we know, 24 of their men died. A total of 30 soldiers were on the train. The railway was also damaged. But there were no civilian casualties. All casualties were soldiers. They took the bodies away overnight. The next morning, they took photos there for the record”, the KNU official told KIC.

The Military Council remained silent about the train attack, but the “Myanma Railway” Facebook page posted that the Yangon-Mawlamyine train trips have been canceled as a result of the attack on the “stone-carrying train.”

The Military Council often uses the Yangon-HpaAn-Mawlamyine highway to replenish its manpower, and the KNU often conducts ambush attacks. This has prompted the junta forces to use more civilian cars to travel on that road lately, according to the local sources.