The junta has launched an offensive to retake the 15 mile (about 24 km) section of Asia Highway One (AH1) between the towns of Kyondoe and Kawkareik, in Kawkareik Township, resulting in heavy fighting.

On 8 July 2025, a column of junta soldiers from Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 545 based in Kyondoe Town and another column from the Military Operations Command 12 (MOC 12) base near to Kawkareik Town simultaneously began advancing along the section of highway towards each other under the cover of heavy artillery fire.

A frontline resistance force said: “Since around 9:00 am this morning, [8 July] rockets have been pounding the villages of Ingyi and Ohntapin in Kawkareik Township. At the same time, junta troops from LIB 545 based in Kyondoe and forces stationed in the Koetaing area near Kawkareik launched columns simultaneously, which sparked an intense, day-long battle. On top of that, LIB 545 and LIB 546 kept up relentless artillery fire, and as of 7:00 pm, the shelling still hadn’t stopped.”

As of the evening of 8 July a coalition of resistance forces was still standing its ground against the advancing junta forces resulting in heavy fighting between them and the junta forces.

During the fighting on 8 July, junta Y 12 utility aircraft flew over the conflict zone without dropping any bombs. At the same time, the junta fired a barrage of rockets using a Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS) that destroyed a section of the road near to Kawkareik Town.

A source in Kyondoe Town said: “The road near Kawkareik took a heavy hit from the rockets, and a lot of nearby houses and even schools were damaged in the blasts.”

Before the junta started its offensive to take the section of highway junta soldiers based in Hpa-An, the Karen State capital, were seen preparing for combat and adding junta-aligned Border Guard Force (BGF) badges to their uniforms, according to local resistance sources.