Junta Uses Civilian Transport to Disguise Reinforcements in Phayathonzu

Photo: Crd

The Myanmar military regime has been covertly deploying hundreds of reinforcement troops to its tactical operations command in Phayathonzu (Three Pagodas Pass), Karen State, utilizing civilian vehicles and passenger buses, local drivers and sources report.

Junta personnel—including officers and newly drafted conscripts—have been arriving in successive batches wearing civilian clothes to disguise their movement. Drivers operating along the Phayathonzu-Mawlamyine Road state that troops are first dispatched from Kyainseikgyi Town to the Phayathonzu tactical command before being redistributed to nearby frontline bases and artillery positions.

"The soldiers are coming from Kyainseikgyi to Phayathonzu in civilian vehicles, batch after batch," a driver told KIC. "Regime troops have been deployed at the hill where an artillery battalion is based and at the police station near the golf course."

Local drivers estimate that incremental deployments since 2024 have bolstered the regime's presence in the area by approximately 700 troops over the past three years.

Additionally, some junta soldiers are operating undercover as commercial truck and bus drivers transporting Thai goods along trade routes connecting Phayathonzu, Thanbyuzayat, Kyainseikgyi, Mawlamyine, and Mudon.

To support these covert movements, regime officials have coerced local business owners into surrendering civilian vehicles to transport office staff, military gear, and ammunition.

Meanwhile, families of junta personnel have reportedly relocated and established local businesses within Phayathonzu.

Phayathonzu currently operates under the control of the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA), a junta-aligned armed group that manages border customs and business concessions while cooperating with regime entities on municipal, educational, and healthcare administration.

Although the junta's Southeast Region Military Command in Mawlamyine recently pressured the DKBA to relinquish full administrative control of the border town, local sources confirm there has been no official shift in administrative authority to date.