The Karenni Nationalities Defence Force (KNDF) told DVB on Tuesday that a regime plan – made in a statement on Feb. 14 – to reopen the 73 mile (117 km) long Union Road connecting Hpasawng Township to the Karenni State capital Loikaw is “unrealistic.”
The KNDF spokesperson Tar El Soe told DVB that the road spans Demoso, Hpruso, and Bawlakhe townships, adding that it took regime forces one year of fighting against resistance forces to reach southern Hpasawng town from Loikaw.
Regime forces recaptured Hpasawng from the resistance on Feb. 15. They are also reportedly attempting to reassert control over the 11 mile (17 km) long Demoso-Hpruso Road and 23 miles (37 km) long Bawlakhe-Hpasawng Road.
Sources close to the Karenni resistance told DVB that fighting with regime forces occurs “daily” as a military counteroffensive has been pushing towards Karenni’s Mawchi town since Feb. 25.
One source told DVB on the condition of anonymity that regime troops have regained control of most of the 19 mile (30 km) long road connecting Mawchi and Hpasawng. He added that regime forces have yet to enter Mawchi, which is located 92 miles (148 km) south of Loikaw, and was seized by the KNDF in 2024.
Another source told DVB that Mawchi is a “vital” revenue stream for the resistance due to its lead and tungsten mines, adding that regime forces conduct reconnaissance missions over the town using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones.
Aid workers told DVB that they have had to halt food and water donations to camps for Internally Displaced Persons in Demoso Township, as gasoline prices reached 15,000 MMK ($3.50 USD) per liter this month due to shortages triggered by the start of the war in Iran on Feb. 28.
“The gasoline price quadrupled in one month. We can’t afford to operate cargo trucks anymore,” an aid worker in Demoso told DVB on the condition of anonymity.
Demoso town, located 11 miles (17 km) south of Loikaw, was recaptured by regime forces on Aug. 19, but the rural areas are reportedly still under resistance control.
Banyar Aung, the Karenni Interim Executive Council (IEC) secretary 2, told DVB that it has a plan to tax-exempt gasoline to reduce prices and ease the burden on residents.
A volunteer at an IDP camp sheltering over 100 civilians in western Demoso told DVB that people are now suffering from skin diseases due to water shortages as they’ve begun to reuse contaminated water.
Residents told DVB that a military road blockade into Karenni, as well as ongoing fighting between regime and resistance forces, contributed to a shortage of food and water in the IDP camps.
On Feb. 17, resistance forces destroyed a bridge over the Thanlwin River to stop regime troops from advancing from Hpasawng into Mese town, which is under Karenni resistance control.
