Colonel Saw Kler Doh, spokesperson for the 5th Brigade of the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), has reported that a strategically crucial hill-based tactical command center of the junta, located south of Hpapun Town in Karen State, is currently suffering from a severe siege and continuous attacks from a coalition led by the 5th Brigade, while the junta is urgently attempting to send reinforcements to support its surrounded troops.

Since March, resistance forces led by the KNLA 5th Brigade have been encircling the junta’s battalion headquarters and the hill-based tactical command center situated in southern Hpapun.

By the end of February, the 5th Brigade and its allies had captured Hpapun Town, then shifted their focus on targeting the junta’s battalion headquarters and hill-based tactical command center south of the town. The forces led by the 5th Brigade also successfully defeated the 19th Infantry Battalion, the 434th Light Infantry Battalion, and the 642nd Military Equipment Battalion, capturing their bases.

Currently, the junta’s remaining presence near Hpapun, including the tactical command center and the 340th and 341st Light Infantry Battalions, is under relentless siege and continuous attacks by KNLA-led joint forces. Meanwhile, the junta is working to send reinforcements from the Khaopoke military base to the north to aid its encircled forces.

Local military sources suggest that there may be over 100 junta troops stationed at the Khaopoke military base, as soldiers who had previously abandoned and fled from outposts near the Thai border have regrouped and consolidated their forces there.

Despite the junta troops in Khaopoke attempting to devise various methods to create an escape route for their comrades trapped in the encircled Hpapun tactical command center, their efforts have been unsuccessful due to the systematic and effective blockades enforced by the KNLA, according to Colonel Saw Kler Doh.

Colonel Saw Kler Doh also mentioned reports of additional junta troops advancing from Kamarmaung Town to Hpapun in coalition with Border Guard Force (BGF) members, however, these reinforcements have not yet arrived in Hpapun.

The junta has aggressively utilized airstrikes in an effort to prevent the 5th Brigade from capturing the Hpapun tactical command center and has deliberately targeted civilian areas, resulting in civilian casualties.

In Hpapun, where the 5th Brigade predominantly operates, the junta has lost control over most of the territory and is no longer able to provide logistical support to its ground troops. Consequently, it now relies solely on helicopters to transport food, weapons, and equipment.

According to a statement from the 5th Brigade, there were 66 skirmishes between the junta and KNLA-led allies in Hpapun District during the first half of July, resulting in 37 junta troops killed, 10 wounded, and several junta outposts destroyed.