The Karen National Union (KNU) stated on Sunday that it has no involvement in alleged cyber scam operations ongoing inside the Chinese-backed KK Park in Myawaddy Township, Karen State. Myawaddy is located along the Myanmar-Thailand border 81 miles (130 km) east of the Karen State capital Hpa-An.
The KNU said in its Oct. 26 statement that its Mulaei Ahlin Company withdrew from the collaboration with Trans-Asia International Holding Group (Thailand) in December 2022, suspending operations on the 100-acre plot of land now known as KK Park.
Regime spokesperson Zaw Min Tun told pro-regime media on Oct. 21, that the KNU was appropriating land and protecting gambling operations on the land of KK Park in exchange for payments.
The notorious cyber scam hub is located south of Myawaddy, near Mae Htaw Thalay village along the Thaungyin (Moei) River, which separates Myanmar from Thailand and lies within the operational territory of KNU Brigade 6.
Thai media reported that regime forces dropped a bomb using an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), or drone, inside the KK Park compound on Oct. 24. Thailand’s Tak provincial office reported that 1,049 foreign nationals crossed from Myawaddy into Mae Sot Oct. 22-24.
Residents of Htaw Thalay village told DVB that everyone working inside had already vacated the premises and the buildings were empty.
It added that 9,964 foreign nationals have been detained for “illegally entering” Myanmar since January. A total of 9,339 have been repatriated via Thailand, while 625 are awaiting repatriation from Myanmar.
An aid worker assisting human trafficking victims along the Thai-Myanmar border told DVB on the condition of anonymity that the regime launched the raid on the KK Park to appease the Chinese government and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) ahead of its 47th Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Oct. 26-28.
The regime Union Election Commission (UEC) scheduled three-phased elections in 274 out of Myanmar’s total 330 townships, set to begin on Dec. 28 and continue into January 2026.
The elections will take place in all seven townships of Karen State, according to the UEC. The KNU has called on citizens to boycott the regime elections. The pro-regime Karen Border Guard Force (BGF), and the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA) have announced their support for the polls.
