16-4-2024 (MYAWADDY) A senior commander from the rebel forces has pledged to maintain control over the strategically significant area of Myawaddy, situated near the border with Thailand, until it is handed over to the Karen National Union (KNU), the political arm of the rebels.
On Monday, resistance fighters demonstrated their defiance by burning the flag of the military government and hoisting their own banner at a recently seized army base in this crucial trading town, which sits opposite Mae Sot in Thailand’s Tak province.
The fall of Myawaddy represents yet another setback for the formidable military regime that seized power in 2021, toppling an elected government led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who remains under detention.
What began as simmering discontent against the junta has evolved into a nationwide armed resistance movement, increasingly coordinating with established ethnic rebel groups to challenge the military’s authority across vast swathes of Myanmar.
Since last October, the army has relinquished control over key territories near its borders with both India and China to a loose coalition of allied resistance forces. Losing Myawaddy at the Thai border threatens to further erode trade revenues for the junta.
Colonel Nadah Htoo, an operational commander of Brigade 6 of the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), the military wing of the KNU, disclosed in a rare face-to-face interview that junta forces have attempted but failed to reclaim the area.
“They have tried to make advances twice now, without success,” he stated.
Htoo further asserted that the KNLA currently holds sway over most of the region and intends to solidify its control before transferring administrative responsibilities to the KNU’s political wing.
“Our military operations will conclude by the end of April,” he declared.
Despite repeated attempts, a spokesperson for the military government remained unavailable for comment when reached out to by Reuters on Monday.
Confronted with the rebel onslaught, several hundred junta soldiers tasked with defending Myawaddy opted to withdraw from their positions, with a smaller group of less than 200 retreating to a location near the second Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge, which connects the town to Mae Sot.
According to Nadah Htoo, these soldiers face a choice between surrendering to Thai authorities or to the KNU. Failure to do so may expose them to potential attacks by resistance forces.
Thai Foreign Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara stated last week that junta soldiers would be permitted to cross the border if they relinquished their arms and sought refuge.
In a speech delivered last month, junta leader Min Aung Hlaing decried the forces opposing the military, accusing them of “undermining the path towards establishing a Union based on democratic principles and federalism.”
Nevertheless, for the allied resistance forces stationed in Myawaddy, Monday marked a day of jubilation.
“We are extremely pleased with the progress of our revolution. If we can seize more Myanmar bases, we will achieve our goal (of overthrowing the junta),” remarked Myo Myint Keyaw, a 26-year-old fighter affiliated with a People’s Defence Force, a militia aligned with KNLA fighters.
While the rebels celebrated, Reuters correspondents in Myawaddy reported hearing air strikes as fighting persisted on the front lines roughly 40 kilometres to the west, where junta reinforcements endeavoured to recapture the area.
Scorched dwellings and bullet-riddled structures were visible near the captured military base, with stray dogs wandering amidst deserted buildings.
On Sunday, a spokesperson for the KNU announced that the rebels had repelled a second military assault aimed at breaching their defenses and advancing towards Myawaddy.
