Rebels raise flag at seized Myanmar base, commander confident of retaining control

Lt Saw Kaw, a soldier of the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) in charge of the Cobra column, raises Karen's national flag after burning Myanmar's national flag at a Myanmar military base at Thingyan Nyi Naung village on the outskirts of Myawaddy. - Reuters

MYAWADDY, Myanmar: Myanmar resistance fighters on Monday (April 15) burned the flag used by the military government and raised their own banner at a newly captured army base, as a senior rebel commander vowed they would hold the strategic area near the Thai border.

The celebrations by fighters linked to the armed ethnic Karen National Union (KNU) came less than a week after the capture of Myawaddy, a key trading town on Thailand's western border.