In southern Kawkareik Township, Karen State, the junta and its ally, the Karen Border Guard Force (BGF), have been battling allied resistance forces led by the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) as the regime attempts to seize control of local villages.

Since September 26, junta troops and Bo Myat Khaing’s BGF Battalion 1016 have been operating in three columns across southern villages of Kawkareik Township. On September 27, artillery shelling by the junta and BGF wounded a local couple in Anhpagyi Village.

“Fighting erupted on September 27 when junta forces tried to enter Kamaingkone Village, and the situation escalated later that night. Three columns of troops, jointly operated by the junta and the BGF, pushed toward Ankalaw, Mikatheinkone, and Anhpagyi villages. Junta artillery fire also injured some villagers, though no fatalities have been reported so far,” a KNLA frontline source said.

On the morning of September 28, about 100 junta-BGF troops massed in the area, preparing for another assault to capture Kamaingkone, Kyaungsharkone, and Ywarthitkone villages, locals reported.

“The junta is trying to reopen Asia Highway 1, while its ally, the BGF, plans to deploy in villages to block Karen resistance forces and the People’s Defence Force from entering. BGF members have been telling locals there’s no need to flee, promising food and other supplies, and urging them not to support or welcome other groups involved in the fighting,” said a local from an undisclosed village in southern Kawkareik Township.

KIC has reached out to relevant BGF officers regarding reports that the group is assisting the junta in its attempts to seize villages in southern Kawkareik, but has not received a response. However, on September 19, Brigadier General Saw Tin Win, the operational commander of BGF’s Military Region 2, told KIC that the group was not aiding the junta in its efforts to take control of the AH1 section between Myawaddy and Kawkareik towns in Karen State.

The junta, the BGF, and the Bo Bi-led faction of the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA) are currently trying to secure the AH1 section between Myawaddy and Kawkareik, aiming to remove all threats and reopen the road in October.

Since mid-September, the junta has launched another operation, using ground offensives, airstrikes, and artillery barrages in an effort to retake Lay Kay Kaw Town, south of Myawaddy Town, from the KNLA.