Fighting broke out between Myanmar’s junta and the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) and its allies on the Kawkareik-Myawaddy road in Karen State on Monday morning.
Residents said they saw three vehicles on fire near Mt. Seit Puu.
Buses and other vehicles traveling to Myawaddy on the Thai border turned back because of the fighting, a Kawkareik resident said.
“When we drove to Myawaddy this morning we saw a truck and two cars on fire and heard gunshots so we turned back,” he told The Irrawaddy.
Kawkareik residents said some drivers were reportedly detained. The Irrawaddy could not independently confirm the reports.
Two other trucks were set on fire on March 27 on the road.
The Dupalaya District authorities of the Karen National Union (KNU), the political wing of the KNLA, warned the public in late March not to use the road until further notice because junta reinforcements were using the road to reach the border area.
The KNU in early March asked the regime to withdraw its troops from Kawkareik and Lay Kay Kaw so residents could return home. The regime, however, sent reinforcements, said KNU spokesman Padoh Saw Taw Nee.
According to the KNU, nearly 70,000 people have been displaced by fighting in the areas it controls since the 2021 coup.
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