By Kantarawaddy Times
On 3 April, the Karenni Nationalities Defense Force (KNDF) reported that their soldiers captured 13 Burma army soldiers alive during multiple clashes in Karenni State and southern Shan State in March.
Khu Reedu, Secretary-3 of the KNDF, said that they have held these prisoners of war (POW) according to KNDF’s military code of conduct and international law related to POWs.
“The KNDF has a military code of conduct which includes a chapter related to POWs. We have held these POWs in conditions according to our code of conduct and according to international law. Our treatment of these POWs follows our own military code of conduct as well as international law,” he told Kantarawaddy Times.
The 13 POWs held by the KNDF include military officers, soldiers working as signalmen, and private soldiers. A lance corporal from the Signal Unit of Infantry Battalion 12 (IB-12) surrendered to the KNDF during a clash in eastern Demoso Township; bringing his MA-3 rifle with him when he surrendered.
The Pekon People’s Defense Force (Pekon PDF) reported that a combined force of resistance groups including Pekon PDF’s Battalion-2 attacked the Burma army’s Light Infantry Battalion 429 (LIB-429) on a mountain pass in Kuyin village-tract in Pekon Township on March 11. The resistance groups captured six Burma army soldiers alive and retrieved the dead bodies of 19 soldiers killed during the clash.
