Myanmar Junta Sacks Commander After Heavy Casualties in Karen State

By The Irrawaddy 1 April 2023

Myanmar’s junta has sacked Lieutenant Normal Khin Hlaing, the Karen State commander, after his forces suffered heavy casualties in clashes with the Karen Nationwide Union (KNU).

Khin Hlaing is the second normal to be pressured out after Lieutenant Normal Than Hlaing, the Sagaing Area commander, was dismissed final yr.

Main Normal Myat Thet Oo, the southeastern commander overseeing Karen State, was additionally transferred.

The reshuffle suggests junta chief Min Aung Hlaing is sad with the heavy regime casualties in Karen State. Just lately, the Karen Nationwide Liberation Military, the armed wing of the KNU, raided a strategic junta outpost close to the Thai border, killing 16 regime troops.

A Min Aung Hlaing protege, Yangon commander Main Normal Nyunt Win Swe, has succeeded Khin Hlaing as the top of the Bureau of Particular Operations 4 with a promotion to lieutenant normal.

He nominated the eleventh Gentle Infantry Division commander, Brigadier Normal Soe Min, who he labored with in Yangon, as the brand new southeastern commander.

Min Aung Hlaing vowed on Armed Forces Day on Monday to take decisive motion towards all revolutionary forces.

The KNU, which has fought for independence for greater than 70 years, ridiculed the junta chief’s assertion.

A navy analyst mentioned: “This reshuffle is just like the one he made final yr in Sagaing. It means the junta is shedding floor in these areas. Combating will intensify in Karen State.”

Padho Noticed Taw, the KNU’s spokesman, informed The Irrawaddy that the reshuffle was nothing new or severe for the KNU because it had occurred earlier than with out tangible outcomes.

“Appointing a brand new commander is what they usually do after they endure defeats. It gained’t have any influence on us. Please see what we did lately to them,” mentioned he, referring to their raids to the Thai border commerce zone in junta-controlled Myawaddy Township and follow-up preventing within the space and on the regime’s strategic outposts.

Naypyitaw commander Main Normal Zaw Hein has been moved to Yangon and he’s succeeded in Naypyitaw by Brigadier Normal Wai Lin.

The commandant of the Nationwide Protection School, Main Normal Kyaw Shwe Tun, has been appointed head of the southern naval headquarters and shall be changed by the Protection Companies Academy commandant Main Normal Zaw Min Latt.