The Karen National Union (KNU) captured the Kabawtu military base in Hpapun (Mutraw) District, Karen State, ending three decades of control by the Myanmar military.
The resistance coalition led by the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), the armed wing of the KNU, captured the strategically important base used for logistics and territorial control in Hpapun—an area where KNU’s Brigade 5 operates—on April 25.
The Kabawtu base, located in Luthaw Township, Hpapun District, had served as a key junta frontline position since 1997, established after the Myanmar military moved into KNU territory.
The junta carried out heavy airstrikes to support its ground forces in an effort to prevent the base from falling; however, despite fierce resistance, the KNLA-led coalition ultimately secured victory.
“We’ve captured Kabawtu. Our comrades are celebrating. The junta carried out airstrikes every day right up until the day before we took the base. But on April 25, we managed to seize it,” a Brigade 5 source told NMG.
After taking the base, KNLA fighters also seized at least 18 weapons, including two light machine guns and a 60mm mortar. Some bodies of junta troops were found inside the base, while others had fled, the source added.
In September 2021, a few months after the coup, the KNU briefly captured Kabawtu base but was later forced to withdraw, allowing the junta to retake control. The KNU said that this time it intends to establish firm control of the base for strategic needs and is hunting down and neutralising any remaining junta forces hiding near the base.
Since the coup, the KNLA-led coalition has captured nearly 70 junta bases and outposts in Hpapun District, leaving only about 10 bases and camps, including a tactical operations command (Hpapun TOC), under its control.
The KNLA is currently encircling and intensifying its attack on the hill-based Hpapun TOC. Meanwhile, the junta is reinforcing its positions with support from its ally, the Karen Border Guard (BGF), further heightening military tensions in the region.
