The junta column attempting to advance toward Lay Kay Kaw Town, south of Myawaddy in Karen State, has been heavily hit by attacks from the KNLA-led resistance coalition and is unable to move further.
The column was intercepted by the KNLA near Hteemeiwahkhee and Pahikalaw villages close to Lay Kay Kaw, where it suffered heavy casualties, according to resistance frontline sources.
The junta column, consisting of hundreds of troops, advanced under the cover of artillery shelling and drone bombardments, but since September 22 its progress has stalled and it has been unable to move forward.
“They began their advance in the early hours of September 22, using heavy artillery fire for cover. The shelling continued throughout the night, with hundreds of rounds fired. By the afternoon of September 23, fierce fighting had erupted around Hteemeiwahkhee and Pahikalaw. The junta forces had already suffered heavy losses and were stuck there, no longer daring to push forward. They tried to retake the Sweitawkone artillery base, but were repeatedly hit by booby traps along the way,” a KNLA frontline source told KIC.
The KNLA-led resistance coalition seized control of the Sweitawkone base in October 2024.
The junta has sent hundreds of troops, including newly conscripted soldiers, in an offensive aimed at retaking not only that base but also other lost camps and bases of Lay Kay Kaw, Hpalu, Thone Htet Kwae, Thaybawboe, Baledo, and Oo-Kray-Hta, situated south of Myawaddy Town.
“The junta is gearing up for a big operation to push as far as Wawlay, bringing in new conscripts from Kawkareik. It is also planning to send reinforcements from the rear to the areas around Lay Kay Kaw, where fighting is still going on. On top of that, the junta is preparing to have the Karen Border Guard Force, which sides with it, escort the deployment,” the source added.
On the Lay Kay Kaw battlefront, the junta was still trying to surpass the TNLA's resistance by firing artillery, rockets, and drones into the combat zone from bases such as Infantry Battalion 275, Letkhattaung, Thingannyinaung, and Kyaukgu as of the night of September 23.
photo credit - CJ
