KNU seizes strategic junta base near Thai-Myanmar Border

The Karen National Union (KNU) announced Wednesday that its forces had seized a key junta outpost near the Thai-Myanmar border, marking a significant victory.The camp, located in Kha Lel Day Village, Hlaingbwe Township, Karen State, fell Tuesday evening after a prolonged siege, the KNU told Myanmar Now in interviews. The Kha Lel Day military base is a fortified position on a hill, northeast of the village, just over two miles from the Thai-Myanmar border along the Moei River.The assault began on March 22 by the Karen National Liberation Army’s Battalions 19, 21, 22, and 24. The battalions operate under KNLA’s Brigade 7, the armed wing of the KNU. The anti-junta forces captured the camp after three days and seized weapons and ammunition from junta troops.The attacks on the junta camp followed other recent gains by Karen forces in the area, including Brigade 5’s recapture of a historic headquarters in December, 2024.The KNU launched its assault on March 22 with a series of drone strikes. In response, junta forces carried out airstrikes on Monday, dropping four bombs from two fighter jets and more than 30 bombs from Y-12 aircraft over the battlefield.Facing mounting pressure, junta troops abandoned their position on Tuesday, after setting fire to their weapons and ammunition, sources say.During the offensive, two junta commanders and a platoon leader managed to escape, according to Brig. Gen. Saw Di Kwe Htoo, commander of KNLA Brigade 7. He shared details of the assault with the Karen Information Center (KIC)."Two were killed and two were injured, all ordinary soldiers,” he said. “There were over 20 personnel at the camp. When we captured it, some fled. Among them were two battalion commanders and a platoon commander. We don't know where they fled to. We're still searching for them."Some Thai news outlets reported that two Thai Air Force planes patrolled the border on March 24 amid intense fighting across the Myanmar side. The Karen National Liberation Army seized a large stockpile of weapons and ammunition from the Kha Lel Day junta camp, in March, 2025. (Photo: KNU) The junta's Kha Lel Day camp, established in 1989 to control the Thai-Myanmar border, has long restricted local residents' movement and livelihoods, according to the KNU.Anti-junta forces recovered the bodies of two junta soldiers and seized a large stockpile of weapons and other military equipment. Starting in late 2024, fighting in Brigade 7 territory, an area near Hpa-An, where the junta has a strong presence has been escalating in recent weeks.Brigade 7, located in Hpa-An, houses the KNU headquarters along with the Karen National Defense Organization (KNDO) and KNLA command centres.On March 14, Brigade 7 forces seized Point 1248 camp, also known as Pu Lu Tu camp, a junta base near Paingkyon Town in Karen State. Anti-junta forces have been working to take the base for weeks.A high-ranking KNU official, who requested anonymity, said that the KNU has established a policy of zero tolerance for junta camps within its administrative territories."This policy has been in place for a long time,” the KNU official said. “Other brigades have been fighting for a while too. And Brigade-7 has been implementing this policy for about three months now.”

KNU seizes strategic junta base near Thai-Myanmar Border

The Kha Lel Day base, a longtime junta stronghold near the Thai border in Karen State, fell after a prolonged siege by KNLA forces

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