Resistance forces maintain control over the key highway traversing the Dawna Mountain Range, which links the towns of Hpa-An, Kawkareik, and Myawaddy in Karen State. At a junta-controlled security checkpoint, truck drivers were threatened with arrest if they paid taxes to the resistance forces while transporting cargo along this route.
The junta's security checkpoint, established near the Gyaing River Bridge—a section of the road under junta control—has seen strict inspections of passing cargo trucks. Troops, members of the junta-aligned Border Guard Force (BGF), and other affiliated groups have been deployed to enforce these inspections.
“Soldiers and BGF members at the Gyaing Bridge are conducting very strict checks. The soldiers threatened to arrest the trucks if they did not show slips proving that they were passing through junta-controlled road sections. This means that the trucks are not allowed to travel from the Kyondoe side, which is controlled by the Karen National Union (KNU) and the People's Defense Force (PDF). The junta troops warned us that using that road section would mean taxing and supporting the KNU-PDF coalition, and that they would arrest drivers and seize trucks and goods,” a truck driver said.
Additionally, cargo trucks traveling between Hpa-An and Myawaddy are required to pay tolls at multiple checkpoints established by various groups, raising concerns among local traders about the potential for increased goods prices. The heightened threats at these checkpoints are also expected to negatively impact trade.
The junta is currently making desperate efforts to assert control over the trade routes connecting Kyondoe, Kyainseikgyi, Nabu, Htilon, Hpa-An, and Mawlamyine.
In pursuit of this objective, the junta is collaborating with certain BGF factions, the Peace Council (PC), and Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA) factions led by Bo Bi to prepare for military operations in the region, according to local sources.
Meanwhile, in recent days, joint resistance forces led by the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) have frequently clashed with the junta, resulting in skirmishes across the region's towns and villages.
