KNU-led forces capture key junta base on Thai-Myanmar border

A key Myanmar army base located near the border with Thailand fell to resistance forces led by the Karen National Union/Karen National Liberation Army (KNU/KNLA) on Friday, according to sources involved in the offensive to capture the base. The base, located near the border town of Htee Khee in Tanintharyi Region’s Dawei Township, was seized early Friday after 10 days of intensive fighting, the sources said. “We captured the base at around 9am today,” said Comrade Star, the operations officer of the Tanintharyi Region People's Defence Organisation (PDO). “We had it surrounded for some time, more than a week. The operation was led by KNLA Brigade 4 in coordination with PDO forces and People’s Defence Force battalions,” he added. The push to take the base began at the end of last month after the capture of the nearby Htee Hta hilltop tactical base, located about five miles from Htee Khee, on April 19. According to Comrade Star, the junta forces suffered heavy casualties, and some troops fled across the border to Thailand to escape the onslaught. The fall of both junta positions means that resistance forces are now in full control of the Thai-Myanmar border area, he added. “Local people have become more free. And for us resistance organisations, our interactions across the Thai border have become much more convenient,” he said. Throughout the 10-day offensive, the regime carried out multiple airstrikes, forcing some local residents to flee across the border into Thailand. According to Padoh Saw Eh Nah, secretary of the KNU’s Myeik-Dawei District, about 50 junta soldiers also entered Thai territory to escape the resistance attacks. “Some fled with weapons, some without. They’ve been detained on the Thai side. We don’t yet know what actions will be taken against them or how they will be handled,” he said. A photo circulating on social media shows junta troops being questioned by Thai authorities after fleeing across the border into Thailand from the Htee Khee camp During their capture of the strategic Htee Hta hilltop tactical base, located along the Dawei-Htee Khee trade route, anti-junta forces took 15 prisoners, including a tactical operations commander who was later shot dead, according to a KNLA officer who spoke to Myanmar Now earlier this week. There were also reports that the regime sent reinforcements into the area through Thailand. Clashes have been occurring daily in Dawei District in recent weeks. Last month, junta airstrikes killed six civilians and injured more than 10, and forced nearly 20,000 to flee their homes, according to Dawna Tenasserim IDPs Supply Force. Most of the displaced residents have taken shelter in nearby villages, forests, and plantations, the relief group said, adding that they need food, medicine, and other supplies. According to an April 23 report by monitor group FE5Tanintharyi, junta offensives and airstrikes displaced more than 66,800 people in Tanintharyi Region in March, including more than 27,300 in Dawei District alone.

KNU-led forces capture key junta base on Thai-Myanmar border

The fall of the Htee Khee base, located along a major trade route, came after 10 days of intense fighting, resistance forces said

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