Fighting between regime forces and the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) broke out near Theinkhun village 41 miles (51 km) west of Mawtaung town, Tanintharyi Region, on Saturday. Mawtaung, located 248 miles (399 km) southeast of the region’s capital Dawei, was seized by KNLA-led resistance forces on Nov. 14.
A Mawtaung resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity that the Myanmar Air Force carried out airstrikes to clear resistance forces from the road leading from Theinkhun to Mawtaung on Nov. 15. No casualties were reported.
A source close to KNLA-led resistance forces told DVB that the military reinforced its positions in Thephyu village, 32 miles (51 km) west of Mawtaung on Nov. 15. The source added that the number of regime forces amassing near Theinkhun village may amount to hundreds of troops.
The KNLA took 42 regime troops as prisoners during the seizure of Mawtaung town on Nov. 14, according to the Karen National Union (KNU), which is based in neighbouring Karen State.
Padoh Saw Eh Nar, the KNU secretary for Myeik and Dawei districts, told DVB that over 40 regime troops fled across the border into Thailand. Over 2,000 Mawtaung residents had already fled their homes into neighbouring Thailand’s Prachuap Khiri Khan Province during airstrikes Nov. 12-14.
The KNLA launched an attack on the regime’s Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 224 in Mawtaung on Nov. 11. It seized the town three days later on Nov. 14 — 35 years after losing it to the Myanmar military in 1990.
Local sources told DVB that thousands of residents from Thephyu, Theinkhun and Chaung Nhit Pauk villages, which are located along the road connecting Theinkhun and Mawtaung, have fled their homes and taken refuge in nearby forests due to recurring fighting between regime and resistance forces since Dec. 17.
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 109 miles (175 km) west of Mawtaung and 152 miles (244 km) south of Dawei.
The Mawtaung border gate was opened by the previous regime in Naypyidaw to improve trade with Thailand in May 2013.
