During a visit to Myawaddy by Commander of the South Eastern Command, Maj-Gen Ko Ko Maung, a separate faction of DKBA troops intercepted a security convoy of the commander on the Asia Highway in Kawkareik at around 9 am on October 1, killing four junta troops, according to local Karen (Kayin) sources.

A junta’s military officer was also wounded in the leg. A local resident near the village, where the fighting broke out, said, “We heard the sound of large artillery and small weapons from 9 am to 11:30 pm. Now it is quiet,” he told Mizzima.

The military security convoy was intercepted by the separate faction of the DKBA led by General Saw Kyaw Thet, near the intersection of Asia Highway and Kawkareik-Kyaikdon Road at Kawkareik township. According to local residents, gunfire could be heard until around 12 noon.

Residents said that as the security convoy of Maj-Gen Ko Ko Maung, Commander of the Southeast Command, was intercepted, the troops of the military junta shot indiscriminately. The shooting damaged houses in nearby villages, including Ywa Thit village, by the junta.

According to Karen (Kayin) sources, the junta’s troops are currently securing the Asia Highway and more troops are being deployed.