Junta loses four Thai-Myanmar border outposts in three days

Anti-regime forces captured four junta outposts in three days last week along the Thai-Myanmar border in Karen (Kayin) State’s Myawaddy Township, according to military sources. A coalition of Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) forces and People’s Defence Force troops under the command of the National Unity Government’s Ministry of Defence seized the outposts between May 28 and 30, the sources said, adding that another key junta position fell on May 23. “Each one collapsed within a day or two, which reflects how dire their situation is,” said Padoh Saw Taw Nee, spokesperson for the KNLA’s political wing, the Karen National Union (KNU). The outposts include one at the village of Baledo, located south of the border town of Myawaddy, which was captured on May 23, and the others were the regime’s Kanaelay, Shwe Aye Myaing (Wah Mee Hta), Maw Khee, and Bayint Naung camps, he said. All of the outposts had been under junta control for decades following their capture in the wake of the fall of the KNU headquarters at Manerplaw in January 1995. In addition to retaking the outposts, the resistance forces also intercepted a junta reinforcement column near the village of Son See Myaing on the Myawaddy–Waw Lay road on May 28 and seized a large cache of weapons and ammunition. The headquarters of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army is located in the village. This action disrupted the junta’s logistics and communication routes, making it easier for the resistance forces to seize the outposts, according to military analyst Htun Htun. “That’s why these camps fell within just three days,” he said. “After clearing Son See Myaing, they launched an assault on Kanaelay, where they seized the hilltop artillery base and captured fleeing junta troops as prisoners of war.” The Kanaelay camp, defended by over 100 junta soldiers, came under attack on the night of May 28. More than 60 weapons, including 120mm artillery pieces, were captured when it fell. According to Aung Aung, deputy chief of the Force for Federal Democracy, other junta troops stationed at the camp fled across the border into Thailand. The allied forces are reportedly continuing their attacks on other junta positions along the border, including the Waw Lay hilltop base, the Ti Thea Lel outpost, and camps at Thay Baw Boe, Ukrithta, and Htee Ka Pal. Prior to the capture of the Baledo camp, resistance forces had captured eight junta camps situated along the Moei (Thaungyin) River, which forms part of the Thai-Myanmar border, since late last year, according to a statement released by the KNU on May 21. Several other junta camps—such as Thay Baw Boe, Waw Lay, Kyauk Khet, and Hpa Lu—located along the Thai-Myanmar border had previously been captured. However, these were later retaken by the regime amid intense airstrikes.

Junta loses four Thai-Myanmar border outposts in three days

A fifth base also fell less than a week earlier, signalling the weakness of the regime’s position along the border in eastern Karen State

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