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KARENNI STATE – The junta council forces have been firing a large number of heavy and small weapons and using the resulting gas as weapon as well in the battle at Hpasawng Township of Karenni State, according to news sources on the ground.
This new warfare has been used since June 17 and the Defence Force soldiers who inhaled the gas have been reportedly suffering from nausea and vomiting.
“I am currently at the site of Hpasawng battle. It’s not as if the junta council used chemical weapons. They used the gas emitted from artillery and small weapons attacks as a form of tear gas. The resulting symptoms include irritation to the skin and eye, causing some to be unable to open their eyes. There are those symptoms and skin allergies all over the body. There are no other horrible symptoms,” said a source on the frontline.
Officials from revolutionary forces shared that as the symptoms would go away after a couple days, they don’t consider it chemical weapons.
As this is the first time junta forces used this tactics, there is yet to be an emergency solution and it is said that the frontline defence soldiers are relieving the symptoms by taking rest or rubbing toothpaste to affected areas.
“There is only a distance of 20m between our revolutionary forces and the junta forces. We are already able to approach the fences of the junta base. They only come out and shoot at night, and would hide in bunkers and only defend during the day,” said the frontline source.
Only junta infantry battalion 134 and 135 remain in Hpasawng and over 75% of the town have been captured by the revolutionary forces.
Karenni Nationalities Defence Force (KNDF), Karenni Army (KA), Hpasawng People’s Defence Force (PDF), Bawlakhe PDF and Karenni Nationalities People’s Liberation Front are taking part in the battle at Hpasawng and it is said that there is a rising need for weapons and ammunition as the battle drags on.