Ethnic army intercepts junta offensive on Thai
An ethnic armed group intercepted a junta retaliation near the Thai-Myanmar border on Thursday, according to an announcement from rebel forces.
The Karen National Liberation Army, an armed branch of the Karen National Union, along with other allied groups, captured the last remaining junta Infantry Battalion 275 near a border town in Myanmar’s Kayin state on Wednesday.
In response, the junta launched state-level offensive “Operation Aung Zeya” to capture Myawaddy city, according to a Karen National Union statement released Thursday.
Karen National Liberation Army joint forces destroyed military vehicles, including an armored vehicle, while junta troops were marching enroute to Myawaddy, it continued. According to the Karen National Union, more than 100 junta troops were injured and killed, and the group was stopped at Dawna Hills, a mountain range extending through Kayin state.
Radio Free Asia reached out to a Karen National Union spokesperson by phone today to learn more about the retaliation, but he did not respond.
On high alert
A Myawaddy resident who wished to remain anonymous for security reasons told RFA that the Karen army had warned some villages about junta airstrikes, which began on Tuesday evening.
“The villages near Infantry Battalion 275 have been ordered to be evacuated by the Karen National Union due to air raids,” he said. “On April 18, people are telling each other to evacuate starting from today.”
Civilians are waiting to go to Thailand through the Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge, while other Myawaddy residents are monitoring the situation, he said, adding that everyone is worried.
Another resident in the border city said the Karen National Army, formerly the junta-aligned Border Guard Force but now aligned with the KNLA, are patrolling the streets and warning the residents to be prepared to evacuate quickly if heavy fighting breaks out.
Junta forces fired with heavy weapons and bombarded villages along their marching route during their offensive, causing civilian casualties and property damage, the Karen National Union’s statement said.
The junta has not released any information on the attack. RFA called junta spokesman Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun for more information, but he did not pick up the phone.
Since April 5, the Karen National Liberation Army and joint forces have captured the junta camps 355, 356 and 357 in Kayin state’s Thin Gan Nyi Naung town, in addition to Falu camp and Kyaik Don Byu Har hill camp and others around Myawaddy city.
Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Kiana Duncan and Mike Firn.
Related articles
Siblings trying to make US water polo teams for Paris Olympics
WALNUT, Calif. (AP) — Chase Dodd started swimming when he was just a kid. Once he began playing wate2024-05-21Family discover hidden camera disguised as a rock pointed at their home in California
A California family were left terrified after a hidden camera disguised as a rock pointing at their2024-05-21Authorities make arrest in 2001 killing of Georgia law student who was found dead in a burning home
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — More than two decades after a University of Georgia law student was found dead in2024-05-21Virginia women's rowing coach Kevin Sauer says this will be his final season
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Kevin Sauer, who coached Virginia’s women’s rowing program to two NCAA c2024-05-21Supreme Court rejects an appeal from a Canadian man once held at Guantanamo
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal by a Canadian-born former Guantanam2024-05-21Suspected pirate attack in the Gulf of Aden raises concerns about growing Somali piracy
JERUSALEM (AP) — A European naval force detained six suspected pirates on Friday after they opened f2024-05-21
atest comment