Junta troops clashed with the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) and People’s Defense Force (PDF) allies along the Asian Highway linking Kawkareik with the border trade hub of Myawaddy in Karen State on Sunday
Junta reinforcements advancing to Myawaddy have been stuck on the mountainous Kawkareik-Myawaddy road near Taw Naw Waterfall for more than two weeks despite air and artillery support.
Kawkareik is located just 42 kilometers west of Myawaddy but the two towns are separated by the Dawna Mountains.
The junta launched Operation Aung Zeya on April 11 to retake Myawaddy after KNLA and its allies had seized the township’s last remaining regime base a week earlier.
Junta forces recaptured Myawaddy town with help from the Karen Border Guard Force (BGF) on April 23.
The Operation Aung Zeya counteroffensive comprises around 1,000 troops equipped with armored vehicles, tanks, and artillery. Deputy junta chief Soe Win is overseeing the operation.
Residents on the outskirts of Myawaddy town reported hearing loud shelling on Sunday night and Monday morning.
Karen BGF spokesman Major Naing Maung Zaw said: “I heard they clashed near a hill near Taw Naw Waterfall. The Aung Zeya troops fired multiple rocket launchers from the Dawna Range. Because of the wind direction, people from Mae Sot heard the clashes as if they were happening in Myawaddy.”
A Myawaddy resident with ties to the KNLA said regime forces on Sunday night shelled Mel Kanel and Atwin Kwin Kalay villages in Myawaddy Township where they thought the KNLA and allies were based.
“There were no reports of casualties, however. The Aung Zeya column is still stuck in place,” he said.
A resident from Wartaw Ward near No. 2 Friendship Bridge in Myawaddy reported hearing artillery strikes from 9 pm to midnight on Sunday, with local buildings shaken by the impact.
Naing Maung Zaw denied reports that the BGF was helping junta troops in Myawaddy join the Aung Zeya column.
“No one travels on this route. Only our troops are manning the route,” the spokesman said.
Although the junta reinforcements remain stuck near Taw Naw Waterfall, hundreds of regime troops have arrived in Myawaddy via forest routes with help from the BGF, according to town residents.
The junta is planning to deploy its Myawaddy and Aung Zeya troops to attack the resistance force in the Dawna mountains from two directions, according to sources close to anti-regime groups.
