Karen rebels recapture Myanmar–Thai border town after 35 years

Myanmar's Karen National Union (KNU)’s armed wing and allies on Friday recaptured the Myanmar–Thai border town of Mawdaung in Tanintharyi Region after a hiatus of 35 years, Irrawaddy reports, citing resistance fighters.

The hill town is located at the Singkhon Pass border where Thailand’s Prachuap Khiri Khan Province is at its thinnest. It served as the headquarters of the KNU’s Myeik District until the junta occupied it in 1990.

The Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) and allied resistance groups launched an offensive to seize the town four days ago and sent the last of regime soldiers and administration officials fleeing to the Thai side on Friday morning.

“All I can say right now is that we control the whole town,” a fighter from the KNLA’s 4th Brigade told The Irrawaddy.

The KNU’s Myeik District secretary, Saw Ehna Doh, said Mawdaung “is important for border trade and also holds strategic significance.”

He said the KNLA seized two military outposts and one public administration office, while an estimated 60 junta soldiers fled to Thailand.

During the offensive, the junta bombed Mawdaung with Y-12 utility aircraft in an effort to defend the town, destroying several buildings.

Some 1,000 resident were displaced to nearby villages, according to volunteers helping them.

By capturing Mawdaung, the KNU now controls the road from the Thai border to Theinkun village 54 km away in the lowlands.

A defector said the junta has been unable to pass the area for almost two years as the KNLA also blocked the only main road from Tanintharyi town to Theinkun.