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HomeBreakingDrone strike kills one at 76th Karen Revolution Day in Karen State

Drone strike kills one at 76th Karen Revolution Day in Karen State

The Karen National Union (KNU) claimed that one was killed and another injured during a drone strike at the 76th Karen Revolution Day event at its Brigade 7 in Hpa-An District of Karen State on Friday. The area where the attack occurred is located near the Moei River along the Myanmar-Thailand border 25 miles (40 km) east of the Karen State capital Hpa-An.

“The military parade ceremonies were conducted separately for security reasons, and the attack happened when there was no mass gathering,” a Hpa-An resident told DVB. 

Sources in Karen State said that the attack was carried out by the military using two “kamikaze” drones, which self-destructed upon impact. A building and a vehicle were damaged in the strike. 

The KNU stated that this is the second drone strike in the area, following another on Oct. 22 when four drones struck territory in Brigade 7. No casualties were reported at that time.

The ceremonies marking the 76th Karen Revolution Day were held at various locations in areas under KNU control with one taking place at the KNU former headquarters at Manerplaw. This is the first ceremony to be held there in three decades since the KNU regained control of Manerplaw in December.

In its statement to mark 76th Karen Revolution Day, the KNU reiterated its commitment to the establishment of a federal democratic union in Myanmar and noted that “the only path to development and peace for the country is through the dismantling of military dictatorship in all its forms.”

It called the military coup four years ago, on Feb. 1, 2021, a blatant power grab by the generals in Naypyidaw and rejected the regime-planned elections, tentatively scheduled for November, as “a ploy to extend military rule.” 

The KNU, one of Myanamr’s longest-standing ethnic armed groups, was founded in 1947. It signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) with Naypyidaw in 2012. 

Following the 2021 coup, it declared the NCA null and void and returned to its fight against the military across southeastern Myanmar. On Jan. 5, the KNU seized the Kuu Thay Soe military outpost in Kyaukkyi Township of Nyaunglebin District.

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