Clashes, shelling, airstrikes continue in Karen State after junta retakes Myawaddy

Junta forces carried out a series of air and artillery strikes targeting armed resistance groups south of Myawaddy, Karen State on Thursday after retaking control of the town, according to local and resistance sources. Residents of Myawaddy—a crucial hub for bilateral trade on the border between Thailand and Myanmar—told Myanmar Now on Friday that they had heard the junta firing artillery from the Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 275 west of town the previous night. The artillery fire was apparently aimed at Lat Khat Taung, a village on a hill some six miles south of Myawaddy. “Starting at 11:29 in the evening, we heard artillery fire at least seven times from LIB 275. We also heard the sounds of warplanes overhead,” a Myawaddy resident said. The Lat Khat Taung hill has been a frequent target of shelling from the LIB 275 base since an alliance of anti-junta forces led by the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) took over the army base on the hill in July 2023. The junta also bombed the newly established settlement of Lay Kay Kaw, located some eight miles south of Myawaddy, as fighting broke out nearby on Thursday, according to a source connected with the KNLA. “The junta’s artillery and airstrikes hit Lay Kay Kaw, Ya Thayt Gu, and locations along the Asia Highway,” the source said. Near Lay Kay Kaw, the junta’s Swe Taw Kone hilltop base has been under siege by resistance forces since the resumption of fighting in Myawaddy Township earlier this year. While no casualties have been reported, communications breakdowns have impeded access to accurate and up-to-date information on the state of battle or numbers killed and wounded. Anti-junta forces captured another strategic junta base on Thursday in Hpapun Township, according to members of the allied People’s Defense Forces (PDF). Hpapun Township is located some 120 miles northwest of Myawaddy in an area that the KNLA recognises as “Mutraw District” within the territory it claims. People’s Defence Forces operate as the armed wing of the shadow, publicly mandated National Unity Government (NUG) and are under the command of its ministry of defence. “We captured the LIB 434 base yesterday morning after junta troops suffered heavy losses and withdrew,” said Tin Oo, spokesperson for the PDF operational command responsible for the area. Spokespersons for the Royal Peacock Column, a PDF unit that has fought alongside the KNLA, said that at least two of its members died in the clash in Hpapun. According to the Karen National Union—the KNLA’s political wing—Hpapun has been under the control of anti-regime forces since March. Fierce clashes have been ongoing in the Karen State townships of Hpapun, Kawkareik, and Myawaddy since the beginning of this year. The KNLA claimed to have seized control of Myawaddy, one of the most crucial trade hubs on the Thailand-Myanmar border, on April 12. However, the Karen fighters withdrew from Myawaddy suddenly and with little explanation on April 23 after intense battles against junta troops. Amid the escalating violence, thousands of Myawaddy Township residents have fled to Mae Sot, Thailand, located across the Moei (Thaungyin) River from Myawaddy in Tak Province.

Clashes, shelling, airstrikes continue in Karen State after junta retakes Myawaddy

Although the Myanmar army recaptured the town of Myawaddy from Karen anti-junta fighters, battles continued south of Myawaddy and in Hpapun, where People’s Defence Forces seized another army battalion’s base

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