Heavy fighting reported in Hpapun as resistance forces move to take last junta base

Fighting has resumed in Karen State’s Hpapun Township, as anti-junta forces led by the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) mounted assaults last week on the regime’s last major military position in the area, according to resistance sources. Most of Hpapun Township has been under KNLA control since March 2023, when the group and its allies captured the town of Hpapun, its administrative centre, after a week-long siege. The junta’s only remaining base in the area, located on the southern outskirts of the town, has been under pressure for more than a year, as resistance forces repeatedly intercept columns of regime reinforcements attempting to reach it. Last week, as efforts to take control of the base intensified, the regime launched a series of airstrikes aimed at preventing its capture, sources said. “Clashes have been intense in Hpapun and the military is deploying warplanes to fend off the resistance attacks,” an anti-junta fighter told Myanmar Now on Tuesday. Another resistance source in the area confirmed that the situation on the ground remains challenging for the KNLA-led forces. “Aerial assaults pose the greatest threat. The military warplanes are dropping bombs even before we launch our attacks,” the source said. According to pro-junta Telegram channels, resistance forces suffered major casualties during clashes on February 5. Junta troops also seized 14 assault rifles and downed a drone, the channels claimed. Aerial assaults were also reported in early February in other townships under the control of the KNLA. Junta airstrikes and artillery attacks killed at least two men and a woman and injured several others in Mone, Shwegyin and Thandaunggyi townships, according to statements released by the Karen Nation Union, the political wing of the KNLA. Hpapun Township is located in Mutraw District, the administrative area of KNLA Brigade 5. According to the Karen Information Center, a local news outlet, there were at least 130 major and minor battles in Mutraw District in January. People’s Defence Force battalions under the civilian National Unity Government’s Southern Region Military Command No. 2, along with fighters from the Bamar People’s Liberation Army, were also involved in recent clashes in Hpapun Township, sources said.

Heavy fighting reported in Hpapun as resistance forces move to take last junta base

The base is located on the southern outskirts of the town, which was captured by resistance forces nearly three years ago

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