The junta’s air force has bombed mountain ranges near Yathaytgu Village, south of Lay Kay Kaw Town in Myawaddi Township, Karen State.

The junta’s Y-12 utility aircraft bombed the area around noon on October 30, according to an administration official from nearby Falu Village.

“The Y-12 first arrived near Yathaytgu and circled over the area without dropping any bombs,” the official said. “Then we started hearing explosions coming from the mountain ranges. When the plane flew toward Falu and began circling over our village, we had to flee and take cover in bomb shelters,” he added.

The junta carried out the airstrike after its ground forces operating in the mountain ranges around Yathaytgu and nearby Hteemeiwahkhee Village since October 20 suffered heavy casualties.

The air support was likely called in because the junta’s offensive stalled in the face of systematic guerrilla defense tactics by the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA)-led resistance coalition, a frontline resistance source suggested.

“In the mountain ranges around Yathaytgu, many junta troops and Border Guard Force (BGF) fighters were killed in minefields. The junta has been transporting its wounded soldiers to Taungkalay Hospital in Hpa-An. After suffering heavy losses from the guerrilla warfare, junta’s ground forces apparently called in Y-12 air support,” he told KIC.

The junta has been desperate to seize full control of Lay Kay Kaw Town and surrounding areas but has failed to overcome resistance forces, leading it to daily bombard the area with rockets, drones, and artillery.

In Myawaddy Township, fierce fighting between the junta and resistance forces is continuing daily around Lay Kay Kaw and Wawlay towns, as well as along Asian Highway 1, the old road running through the Dawna Mountain Range.