The junta has been carrying out an offensive since September 12 against rural communities north and south of the Kyondoe-Kawkareik road section on Asia Highway 1 (AH1) in Karen State, resistance frontline sources said.
The junta is trying to control the entire AH1, a key trade route with Thailand, and initially launched operations in the Kyonbine, Inngyi, Hlaingsein, and Kaunghmu villages north of the Kyondoe-Kawkareik road section. Later, military operations expanded to include Yaepu, Nwarchankone, Mikalon, Weikzarkone, Hlaingkwe, Taungkyarinn, and Myaukkyarinn villages south of the road section.
“Lately, junta trucks loaded with reinforcements from Hpa-An, the capital of Karen State, have been arriving four or five times a day. But so far, the junta’s columns still haven’t been able to get past Kyonbine and Inngyi. The new columns are now trying to push forward, starting from Nwarchankone, moving through Yaepu, Mikalon, Weikzarkone, Hlaingkwe, and aiming to reach Taungkyarinn. At the same time, the junta has been carrying out heavy artillery shelling across the area,” a source from Taungkyarinn Village said.
On September 12 and 13, clashes broke out between the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA)-led resistance coalition and the junta near the bridge linking Hlaingkwe and Taungkyarinn. During the fighting, the junta carried out airstrikes on villages including Kyonbine, Byatkha Thihakone, and Inngyi, further intensifying the battles.
“The junta has been shelling the area between Kawkareik and Kyondoe almost every day. It looks like they’re trying to scatter the KNLA-led coalition by creating multiple combat zones and stretching the resistance’s focus. That’s why they’re sparking clashes in different places. And now, they’ve just opened a new front in Taungkyarinn,” a KNLA frontline source noted.
Two main routes connect Kyondoe and Kawkareik to Myawaddy: the Asia Highway 1 (AH1) and the old road through the Dawna Mountain Range. Fighting continues along sections of both routes, as resistance forces target the junta’s tactical operations command in Wawlay Town, Myawaddy Township, triggering clashes and forcing residents to flee.
photo credit - CJ
