Karenni State is located only 262 km east of the capital Naypyidaw along the border with Thailand. The Interim Executive Council (IEC) was established there in June 2023 as the provisional government. It runs a federal democratic state which has become a model for the rest of Myanmar.
TRANSCRIPT—What’s happening in Myanmar’s eastern Karenni State is worth your attention.
It is located only 262 kilometers east of the capital Naypyidaw along the border with Thailand.
The Interim Executive Council was established there in June last year as the provisional government.
It consists of political, civil society and armed force leaders from Karenni State.
Its Chair is Khu Oo Reh. Its Vice Chair is Khun Bedu. Its Treasurer is Maw Poe Myar. Its General Secretary is Khu Plu Reh. Its First Secretary is Zu Padonmar. And its second Secretary is Banyar Khun Aung.
The IEC claims it controls up to 75 percent of Karenni State. Karenni resistance forces have stated they hold most of Loikaw, the state capital.
This is where the military’s regional command headquarters is based.
On Nov. 11, the Karenni forces launched an offensive called Operation 1111. They now control five towns and 65 military outposts.
The resistance forces consist of the Karenni Nationalities Defence Force (KNDF), the Karenni Army (KA), the Karenni Nationalities People’s Liberation Front (KNPLF), and the People Defense Force (PDF) under the National Unity Government (NUG).
On Tuesday, a military counter-offensive was intercepted by the KNDF outside of Loikaw.
The Pa-O National Army, which is based in the Pa-O Self-Administered Zone of southern Shan State, is fighting alongside the military.
Its column consists of more than 500 troops, currently 61 kilometers north of Loikaw in Hsihseng, Shan State.
Karenni resistance forces are fighting to seize the towns of Moebye, north of Loikaw, as well as Bawlakhe and Hpasawng in southern Karenni State.
The United States Institute for Peace (USIP) states that the number of troops in the military has been reduced to 130,000.
This is since fighting erupted nationwide in opposition to the 2021 military coup.
In February, Naypyidaw activated its conscription law to replenish its ranks. The KNDF claimed that at least 500 youth have fled to Karenni State to avoid military conscription.
They are now helping the Karenni resistance run and defend its federal democratic state, which has become a model for the rest of Myanmar.
There are 350,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) living in IDP camps across Karenni State.
At least 120 people have been killed and 200 have been injured since Nov. 11, according to the IEC.
