Myanmar Military Pressures DKBA to Return Border Town of Paya Thonzu

The Myanmar military is reportedly demanding that the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA) return Paya Thonzu, a town on the Thai-Myanmar border, while new commander‑in‑chief Ye Win Oo seeks to use air power to recover lost territories across the country, according to local sources.

Paya Thonzu lies in Kyainseikgyi Township within Karen National Union (KNU) Brigade 6 territory. In early 2023, joint forces of the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) and allied groups attacked the town, forcing the military administration to withdraw. Since then, the DKBA has overseen security and checkpoints, while the KNU, the political wing of the KNLA, has assumed administrative functions.

Analysts monitoring Karen State politics and military affairs said the Myanmar military’s bid to reclaim Paya Thonzu cannot be negotiated solely with the DKBA, but will require engagement with KNU‑aligned organizations and may involve military pressure. “As in Myawaddy, they want to reassert influence and restore territorial control. So, they are pressuring the DKBA,” one source close to Karen armed groups told The Irrawaddy.

At press time, neither Karen State regime officials nor DKBA representatives had responded to requests for comment.

The DKBA, a signatory to the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA), pledged cooperation with the military after the 2021 coup but rejected a Myanmar military plan to station troops at its headquarters in Karen State’s Sonese Myaing. In July 2025, the military bombed the DKBA’s Battalion 3 headquarters near Waw Lay Myaing, south of Myawaddy.

The Myanmar military has deployed troops outside Paya Thonzu town, with Myanmar military personnel going in and out of the town in civilian dress. A local confirmed: “They have reinforced Kyainseikgyi with weapons and are moving closer to us. They are trying to retake Paya Thonzu from Kyainseikgyi.”

Unlike Myawaddy, Paya Thonzu lacks an official border trade gate, but is located on a key border trade route, and scam compounds operate with approval from local authorities. Both the military and armed groups profit from these activities, reducing the likelihood of immediate clashes, observers noted.

The area also hosts Chinese‑run antimony and lead mines near Thapyu Village. The military has carried out airstrikes there, including a November 2022 bombing that killed at least three people—among them Chinese nationals—and injured eight. Another strike on April 29 this year hit a lead mine near Makkatha Village north of Paya Thonzu, causing further casualties. The Irrawaddy could not independently verify casualties.

In early 2023, KNLA and allied forces attacked government offices in Paya Thonzu—including the General Administration Department as well as Immigration, Military Intelligence, Forestry, Special Branch and Land Records offices, and the police station—dismantling the regime’s administrative apparatus.