Myanmar’s regime is preparing an offensive to reclaim Thingannyinaung operational command base and three battalions guarding the key border trade hub of Myawaddy in Karen State. Hundreds of junta troops who previously fled resistance attacks on bases in the area are regrouping for the attack, according to Karen resistance sources and Myanmar military defectors.
The troops are massing at Infantry Battalion 275 in Myawaddy town, about 8 kilometers from the targeted base and battalions.
Battalion 275 was briefly captured by the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) and allies in April last year.
The regrouping force includes soldiers sent back from Thailand after fleeing fighting in Waw Lay, as well as troops from the 44th Light Infantry Division and 13th Military Operations Command, according to former major Swe Taw, a military defector who served in Karen State.
Hundreds of junta soldiers fled into Thailand after the KNLA and People’s Defense Forces attacked their positions at Baleldo, Kanel Lay, and Maw Khee near the border last week. They have since rejoined their colleagues in Myawaddy town.
“Around 700 troops have gathered at Infantry Battalion 275 and are preparing to advance on Thingannyinaung. However, it won’t be easy. Many are demoralized, and if they advance they could be ambushed and killed,” said a Myawaddy resident close to the regime.
In January 2024, Thingannyinaung’s newly appointed commander was killed along with the acting commander of Light Infantry Battalion 9, a pilot and two captains when anti-regime Cobra Column fighters shot down their helicopter.
The KNLA seized the Thingannyinaung base along with Light Infantry Battalions 355, 356, and 357 in March and April. The regime’s national-level counteroffensive, Operation Aung Zeya, failed to retake the bases after resistance forces trapped reinforcements in the Dawna Mountains west of Myawaddy.
Last week, the junta and its allied Karen Border Guard Force (BGF) reinforced Battalion 275 and launched a three-day artillery barrage on Thingannyinaung and nearby villages. Junta aircraft are also patrolling Myawaddy skies, according to residents.
The shelling injured four civilians in Shwe Myit Sandi village before resistance forces retaliated by shelling Infantry Battalion 275, leading to a temporary lull in junta attacks. However, Myawaddy residents say the junta is now regrouping for an advance on Thingannyinaung.
“If junta troops attack, they can only advance along the main highway, which people are still using as normal. Our forces have cut off other routes,” a local resistance fighter in Thingannyinaung told The Irrawaddy.
Myanmar military defectors say the failure of Operation Aung Zeya has forced the junta to shift its focus to Thingannyinaung instead of reinforcing Waw Lay, two hours south, where it has lost six bases to advancing Karen resistance forces.
