Junta-allied armed groups have begun deploying in villages along the Kawkareik-Kyondoe section of the Asia Road in Karen State, as well as initiating military preparations to prevent the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) and the People's Defense Force (PDF) from gaining control.
The Junta’s allies - the Karen Border Guard Force (BGF), Mon Peace Defense Force (MPDF), and local militia units convened a meeting in Kyondoe Khunhittaing village on June 25 to discuss bolstering security and military operations along the Kawkareik-Kyondoe road section. After that, they established checkpoints and outposts along the road, intensifying round-the-clock inspections, locals reported.
"Win Aung and Mya Hlaing's BGF factions, alongside MPDF's Soe Myint, convened a meeting at a security outpost in Khunhittaing village, joined by militia groups from nearby villages in Kyondoe. They have since expanded and deployed more security checkpoints and are collecting arbitrary tolls from local pedestrians”, a Kyondoe resident told KIC.
Junta-aligned armed groups are intensifying their deployment along that road section. Simultaneously, the Kyondoe-based 97th Infantry Battalion is frequently unleashing artillery barrages targeting the combat zones of the Junta's Operation Aung Zay Ya against the KNLA and allied resistance forces.
“Every day, artillery fire echoes along the Asia Road linking Kawkareik. The Junta's Operation Aung Zay Ya remains engaged in daily clashes with KNLA and PDF in the Dawna Mountain Range. Injured soldiers are being transported using commandeered civilian vehicles to the Taungkalay military hospital in Hpa-An via Kyondoe”, a military source from Kawkareik said.
The newly constructed Myawaddy-Kawkareik Asia Road, once a vital travel artery in the region, is now impassable due to ongoing clashes. As a result, locals and traders traveling between Myawaddy, Kyondoe, and Hpa-An are relying exclusively on routes controlled by certain Karen armed organizations that have reached ceasefire agreements with the Junta.
