Fighting along the Tanintharyi–Mawdaung trade route, a strategic corridor connecting Myanmar and Thailand, has persisted for nine consecutive months, with both junta forces and resistance fighters suffering losses, according to sources close to the conflict.
On 18 September, the ninth-month mark of the conflict, the Karen National Union (KNU) reported that two junta soldiers were killed and two others wounded during a skirmish. Resistance forces also seized two firearms, ammunition, and various military supplies.
“The fighting continues daily, and the military commission’s junta forces have significantly stepped up their use of drones. Both sides are suffering losses,” an official from the joint resistance forces told Mizzima.
Hostilities first erupted on 18 December, 2024, when Myanmar’s military launched an offensive aimed at regaining full control over the trade corridor. Initial clashes broke out near Theinkhun village and have continued without pause.
Since then, junta troops have attempted to secure both the Tanintharyi–Mawdaung road and Mawdaung town itself, a key border trading point.
In addition to deploying drones, artillery, and conducting airstrikes, the military has reinforced its presence with ground troops and armed allied militias such as the Pyu Saw Htee.
Despite months of military efforts, junta forces have not succeeded in reaching Mawdaung. They remain entrenched near Theinkhun and are reportedly using monasteries, schools, and fortified buildings in surrounding villages - including Chaunghnitpauk, Yebyu, and Htonkhar - as defensive positions.
Resistance officials confirmed that at least 10 members of the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) joint forces have been killed or injured since the conflict began.
Civilians have also borne the brunt of the violence. Ongoing airstrikes and troop movements have forced residents from multiple villages - such as Htonkhar, Naungbinkwin, Ngarmile, Chaukmile, Kwinthit, and Bawdhigon - to flee their homes.
Displaced villagers now face urgent need for shelter, food, and medicine, particularly as the rainy season worsens living conditions.
In one recent escalation, KNLA fighters reportedly damaged a junta fighter jet during a clash near Theinkhun on 12 September. While the aircraft was not downed, it sustained visible damage, according to Pado Saw Ae Na, District Secretary of KNU Brigade 4.
Mawdaung, located across from Thailand’s Singkhon town in Prachuap Khiri Khan Province, has been surrounded by resistance forces, with junta troops remaining inside the town. The Mawdaung Trading Post, once a hub of cross-border commerce since its opening in May 2013, has ceased operations amid the intensifying conflict.
