Why Myanmar Junta’s Face-Saving Counteroffensive is Doomed to Fail

Mobye, in Southern Shan State, is one of several towns recaptured by Myanmar junta counteroffensives this month.

A strategic gateway linking Karenni State on the eastern border with the junta’s capital, Naypyitaw, Mobye had been held by the Karenni Nationalities Defense Force (KNDF) and allied resistance groups for over 18 months before the junta retook it in early July.

The KNDF – formed in response to the 2021 coup by young Karenni activists seeking to protect civilians from the regime’s brutal crackdown – quickly grew into one of Myanmar’s most active and well-organized anti-junta forces.