Guerrilla fighters from the main ethnic Karen fighting force fighting Burma’s military junta have withdrawn from the eastern border town of Myawaddy, two weeks after forcing the military to abandon its defenses, residents and group members said Wednesday. .
Their withdrawal comes after a rival ethnic Karen armed group, which has occupied the town and claims responsibility for its security, provided aid to army soldiers who had sought safety in a riverside location. It was conducted.
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The soldiers are from the army’s 275th Infantry Battalion, and the base, about three miles west of Myawaddy, was captured on April 11 by a coalition of armed forces from the Karen National Union (KNU) and pro-democracy forces.
The fleeing soldiers regrouped in an area next to one of the two bridges connecting Myawaddy to Thailand’s Mae Sot district.
Soe Win Myint, commander of a military unit affiliated with the Karen National Union, the leading political group of the Karen ethnic minority, which is part of the resistance movement against military rule in Burma, is at the occupied army base of the 275th Infantry Battalion. A soldier inspects a damaged weapons depot on Friday, April 12, 2024, in Myawaddy District, Kayin State, Burma. Soldiers who abandoned their base two weeks ago were given permission by another armed group on Tuesday to raise the junta’s flag there. (AP Photo/Metro)
The complex operation began after the military crushed widespread nonviolent protests calling for the overthrow of Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government in February 2021 and a return to democratic rule. This is the latest development in the conflict across Burma.
Despite an advantage in weapons and manpower, the Burmese military has been on the defensive since October last year, when a coalition of three ethnic rebel groups launched an offensive in the country’s northeast. Since then, the resistance has taken control of key areas in northern Shan state on the border with China, made significant advances in western Rakhine state and continues to put pressure on the military in other areas.
The soldiers currently camped next to the Second Thailand-Myanmar Friendship Bridge are members of another Karen armed group that was nominally affiliated with the military but last month announced it was cutting ties and establishing a border guard force. They are afforded at least tacit protection by the Kayin State Border Guard. They operated independently under the name of the Karen National Army.
Border forces had been accused of protecting a casino resort in the Myawaddy region, which has been accused of being a hub for organized crime, including online fraud activities and human trafficking.
KNU spokesman Padaw Soe Taw Nyi told reporters on Wednesday that border guards had taken the soldiers who were hiding near the bridge to the abandoned 275th Infantry Battalion base, where the flags were being displayed. He said KNU forces temporarily withdrew from Myawaddy because they hoisted the Burmese flag instead of the flag. when occupied by guerrillas.
Photos and video clips of several soldiers holding the Burmese flag were spread by supporters of the junta on the social network Telegram on Tuesday. It is unclear whether any of the soldiers remained at the base or returned to their campsites near the bridge after the photo shoot.
The KNU is preparing to defend against expected counterattacks by the junta, maintaining the mobility of its forces rather than trying to hold onto territory.
Members of the Karen National Union/Karen National Liberation Army Peace Council, another Karen group based in Myawaddy, told The Associated Press that border guards helped arrange the safe evacuation of soldiers to the bridge encampment two weeks ago. He said they provided necessary supplies to the soldiers. Along with food and weapons. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information publicly.
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Myawaddy residents say border guards play a major role in maintaining security in the town.
Last Friday, Karen guerrillas launched a small drone attack against soldiers hiding near the bridge, but the Burmese army responded with airstrikes and several bombs in the vicinity over the next two days. Approximately 3,000 residents were forced to evacuate to Thailand.
