Junta offensives stall in Karen State as resistance forces hold ground

Resistance fighters say they are holding their positions in Karen State despite an intensified junta push in recent weeks, as battles continue to rage across Myawaddy and Hpapun townships. Sources say in southern Hpapun, the junta’s offensive has advanced toward Ka Taing Ti village—home to a key strategic camp located about 20 miles from Kamarmaung Town—but progress has largely stalled. KNU Brigade 5 and allied resistance forces, which captured Hpapun earlier this year, have encircled the camp to its south.The KNU brigade said the junta column reached as far as War Du village, 14 miles south of Ka Taing Ti, where it has been pinned down for more than a month. “They are still far from Hpapun and haven’t reached Ka Taing Ti,” Lieutenant Colonel Saw Kaler Doh, spokesperson for KNU Brigade 5, told Myanmar Now. “They’re currently positioned between Ka Taing Ti and Kamarmaung—closer to Kamarmaung, still quite a distance from Ka Taing Ti.” Saw Kaler Doh added that while ground columns have made no progress, junta forces continue to launch repeated airstrikes on KNU territory. “On November 2, they bombed Upper Day Pu No village, the site of a former school,” he said. “The dormitory and dining hall were completely destroyed and are now unusable, but fortunately, there were no casualties or injuries.” KNU forces, along with allied People Defense Force (PDF) units, are stationed in Hpapun. The junta has been launching offensives alongside the Karen Border Guard Force (BGF) and a breakaway organisation of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) led by Bo Bi, a prominent DKBA commander. The junta has increasingly leaned on both the BGF and the DKBA, whose fighters possess deep familiarity with the terrain and local networks. Acting as auxiliary forces, the BGF and DKBA units often coordinate logistics, intelligence, and ground operations with the junta’s army—providing critical support in areas where regular troops face resistance control and lack local knowledge. In southern Myawaddy Township, junta forces are advancing following their capture of Lay Kay Kaw, according to the KNU’s Black Panther Column. Operating under KNU Brigade 6 territory, the regime’s Hpa An-based Division 22 is pushing ahead with drones, artillery, and airstrikes, though resistance fighters say they seized ammunition from the advancing troops.The Cobra Column, the Venom Column, and the Justice Soldier Group are among the KNU forces resisting the renewed junta attacks. Sources close to the KNU report frequent clashes near Ya Thayt Gu and Hpa Lu villages.Zin Yaw, a former CDM officer, told Myanmar Now that the junta is likely to escalate attacks in Hpapun and Hlaingbwe soon, towns slated for the second phase of next year’s planned elections. He added that it’s likely the junta will deploy ten battalions and three tactical units from Division 22 to assault KNU Brigade 6 territory.Zin Yaw pointed out that during Operation Aung Zeya, the junta advanced rapidly from Kawkareik, capturing the strategic hill at Thin Gan Nyi Naung and Lay Kay Kaw, but their push toward other strategic towns came to a halt. “They likely slowed down due to fatigue from continuous fighting,” Zin Yaw said. “Or, they couldn’t move forward because resistance forces started to ambush them.”

Junta offensives stall in Karen State as resistance forces hold ground

Despite heavy bombardment and reinforcements from Border Guard and DKBA units, junta troops remain unable to advance against KNU positions in Hpapun and Myawaddy

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