Military recaptures Myanmar-Thailand border town and regains control of another in northern Chin State

Military recaptures Myanmar-Thailand border town

Regime forces regained control of Tanintharyi Region’s Mawtaung town in Myeik District from the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), the armed wing of the Karen National Union (KNU), and reportedly killed 24 resistance members on Tuesday. Mawtaung, located along the Burma-Thailand border 248 miles (399 km) southeast of the Tanintharyi Region capital Dawei, was seized by KNLA-led forces on Nov. 14.

A source close to the KNLA told DVB on the condition of anonymity that resistance forces withdrew due to the regime’s “overwhelming” firepower during its counteroffensive to retake Mawtaung, which began on May 5. The regime in Naypyidaw accused the KNLA, and its allied People’s Defence Force (PDF), of selling natural resources to an unnamed country and of bombing to destroy public roads and bridges in Mawtaung.

The Myeik-Mawtaung border trade route, used for transporting goods from Burma into Thailand, was closed on an unspecified date, according to local residents. Myeik is 109 miles (175 km) west of Mawtaung and 152 miles (244 km) south of Dawei. The Mawtaung border gate was opened by the Thein Sein government to improve trade with Thailand in May 2013.

…And regains control of another in northern Chin State

Sources in the Chin resistance told DVB that pro-regime forces, including the Zomi Revolutionary Army-Eastern Command (ZRA-EC), recaptured Chin State’s Tonzang town from the Chin National Army (CNA), which is the armed wing of the Chin National Front (CNF) and its Chinland Council, on Tuesday. Tonzang, located 144 miles (231 km) north of the Chin State capital Hakha, was seized by CNA-led forces on May 19, 2024.

A Chin resistance member told DVB on the condition of anonymity that their forces faced a “pincer attack” from the military, which advanced from Tedim Township, and ZRA-EC forces, which advanced from Tonzang’s Cikha town, simultaneously on May 11. This is when the fighting over control of Tonzang between pro-regime and resistance forces began. The towns are located 28-54 miles (45-86 km) south and north of Tonzang.

Tedim is contested between the regime and Chin resistance forces. The CNA seized Tonzang, as well as Cikha, on May 19, 2024, but it’s unclear if it has fully withdrawn its troops following the loss of Tonzang. Regime forces recaptured Falam Township, 41 miles (66 km) north of Hakha, from the Chin resistance on April 25. They now control Falam, Tonzang, Hakha, and parts of Thantlang and Tedim—contested by Chin resistance forces.