Mawtaung town, located along the Myanmar-Thailand border, was seized by resistance forces led by the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) on Friday, residents told DVB. Mawtaung Township in Myeik District is located 217 miles (349 km) north of the Tanintharyi Region capital Dawei.
Over 2,000 Mawtaung residents fled their homes across the border into Thailand’s Prachuap Khiri Khan Province during airstrikes carried out by the Myanmar Air Force from Nov. 12-14.
A spokesperson from the National Unity Government (NUG) Tanintharyi Region Military Command confirmed to DVB that KNLA-led forces had Mawtaung under its full control on Nov. 14.
A Mawtaung resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity that an unknown number of military personnel fled into Thailand as regime forces retreated from the town. No casualties were reported.
The KNLA, which is the armed wing of Karen National Union (KNU) based in neighbouring Karen State, launched an attack on the regime’s Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 224 in Mawtaung on Nov. 11.
The Myeik-Mawtaung border trade route used for transporting goods from Myanmar into Thailand was closed on an unspecified date, according to residents. Myeik is 40 miles (64 km) west of Mawtaung and 152 miles (244 km) north of Dawei.
The KNLA Myeik-Dawei District Headquarters was located in Mawtaung until 1990 when the Myanmar military took control of the town. The Mawtaung border gate was opened by the previous regime in Naypyidaw to improve trade with Thailand in May 2013.
