Mayanmer's Karenni (Kayah) state has been liberated from junta control. Local resistance forces now control over 90 percent of the state. Khun Bedu, vice-chairman of the Karenni State Interim Executive Council (IEC), told The Irrawaddy, a Thailand base Burmese media.
The Irrawaddy yesterday reported that Junta troops are still deployed in certain parts of towns, for example, near Moebye Dam in Moebye Town. ‘Combined, junta positions account for some 10 percent of Karenni State. '2024 is the year resistance fighters will return home. I wish for peace for all those who are fighting against the military regime in Myanmar. I would like to tell them that in Karenni State, we continue our efforts to topple the junta and enable
to return home in 2024. We are also trying our best to enable people across the country to celebrate Thingyan with their families in years to come,’ said Khun Bedu, though he acknowledged that junta airstrikes continue to inflict serious damage on the state.'Our mission is to crush all the remaining junta positions in 2024. We are attacking battalions in Hpasawng that were reinforced with troops from Bawlakhe, 48 kilometers away. Our ambush attacks here have killed around 110 junta troops and captured over 50. We are confident of defeating junta positions in both Hpasawng and Moebye. We will have 100 percent control over Karenni State when we can defeat another six junta positions
.'‘We are doing our best to deliver public services in areas we control in Karenni State. Media agencies have reported on this occasionally either through in-situ coverage or phone interviews. Recently, freelance reporters have phoned to tell us that they were threatened while doing their job, and they felt unsafe. The IEC is responsible for administration, and we need to provide security for journalists. We have not yet adopted standard procedures for handling journalists. So, we issued a statement asking journalists to report to the IEC when they visit Karenni State and always wear media badges while they are doing their job, and not to engage in any act that may undermine the revolution. We must ensure their reporting does not stray outside reasonable limits by, for example, revealing locations of our troops, the size of our battalions, and so on,’ Khun Bedu added.
ZH
