KNU-led forces continue assault on junta bases in Karen State’s Hpapun Township

Anti-regime forces in Karen State say they are continuing their push to capture three junta bases in Hpapun Township despite coming under heavy fire from Myanmar’s military. The bases are the last in the township still under the regime’s command since allied forces led by the Karen National Union (KNU) seized control of the town of Hpapun in late March.“The junta forces are still fighting back to this minute and residents of the nearby villages have had to flee due to their airstrikes,” said Tin Oo, the National Unity Government’s military commander in the area. The fighting is taking place in the KNU’s Mutraw District, which is the territory of Brigade 5 of its armed wing, the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA). In a statement released on Tuesday, KNLA Brigade 5 said that there were 107 major and minor battles in the district in May, killing a total of around 60 junta troops and injuring an unspecified number of resistance fighters. At least eight civilians were injured by junta airstrikes in the same period, the statement claimed. Myanmar Now was unable to independently confirm the group’s casualty figures. Maung Saungkha, the leader of the Bamar People’s Liberation Army (BPLA), also emphasised the importance of the ongoing offensive in Hpapun Township. “We must prevail no matter how difficult it is,” he said in a statement posted on Facebook. The BPLA is one of the groups taking part in the offensive. Relief workers say the conflict has displaced almost the entire population of Hpapun Township over the past two months. According to the latest available figures, the township has more than 70,000 inhabitants. Junta attacks have made the township’s administrative centre uninhabitable, according to David Eubank, the founder of the Free Burma Rangers, a group that provides emergency assistance to civilians in Myanmar’s conflict zones. Around 20 percent of the abandoned town’s buildings have already been destroyed by shelling and airstrikes, he told Myanmar Now. Displaced residents are now in desperate need of food and other essentials, he said, noting that the conflict has been especially devastating for children. “We need oil to cook and also some sources of protein, like legumes or canned fish. The children don’t have a school and we need supplies to run teaching programs for them,” he said. The regime has also imposed an internet blackout in Hpapun Township since the fighting began more than two months ago, making it difficult for locals to communicate with people outside of the area.

KNU-led forces continue assault on junta bases in Karen State’s Hpapun Township

The three bases are the last still remaining in the township after anti-regime forces seized control of it administrative centre in late March

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