Myanmar Junta Launches Major Offensive in Dawei to Recapture KNU-Controlled Border Trade Route

A major Myanmar junta offensive targeting opposition-controlled territory in Tanintharyi Region's Dawei District has sparked heavy clashes, civilian casualties, and mass displacement across three townships.

Since mid-August, military columns have intensified operations across Thayetchaung, Launglon, and Myitta Townships.

Local resistance sources report that the junta’s primary strategic goal is to push through Myitta Township to retake Hteekhee, a crucial trade zone along the Thai border controlled by the Karen National Union (KNU) Brigade 4 and allied forces.

In Thayetchaung Township, junta forces have raided multiple villages using hundreds of troops backed by daily artillery shelling and drone strikes. Local sources reported severe human rights abuses, including the abduction of civilians to serve as human shields for advancing military columns.

On August 10, troops detained seven residents from Kinsahe Village; one detainee, 53-year-old U Soe Tun, was executed and buried at a pagoda complex in Sawphya Village, where the military has begun constructing a fortified base.

Indiscriminate attacks have also hit nearby Launglon Township.

On August 18, soldiers from Infantry Battalion 104 positioned along the Launglon-Maungmagan Road shelled surrounding areas, killing a father and son from Kyauksin Village and injuring two women.

Daily arson raids, aerial attacks, and ground clashes have forced thousands of residents from more than 10 villages across the three townships to abandon their homes, with local defense forces warning of further military escalation in the coming days.