The junta column that recently recaptured Thin Gan Nyi Naung, located in Karen State along the Myawaddy–Kawkareik Asia Highway, is now carrying out clearance operations in the area, with sporadic clashes reported against resistance forces.
The Asia Highway, previously controlled by joint forces of the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) and People’s Defense Forces (PDF), was the target of a military offensive launched on August 28th. The junta commission succeeded in retaking it on September 6.
A frontline resistance source told IMNA that while their troops have been forced to retreat, the junta has reoccupied its former hilltop bases along the Asia Highway. As a result, renewed battles could erupt at any time if resistance forces counterattack.
“Right now they’re doing clearance operations, so you can hear some occasional shooting, but no direct contact yet. We don’t know if the resistance will launch a counteroffensive or not, but fighting could break out at any time. Soldiers are back in all their old hill positions along the highway. They’re harder to track now—you don’t know where they’ll come from. They’ve opened three different fronts,” the source explained.
Although the junta has announced plans to reopen the Asia Highway once security is restored, civilian vehicles are only able to travel as far as Kawkareik, and safety remains uncertain.
Reports also suggest the junta commission may expand operations to seize more resistance-held territories and bases around Myawaddy. The recapture of Thin Gan Nyi Naung was reportedly achieved with support from the Karen Border Guard Force (BGF).
A military analyst observed that there was little heavy fighting during the takeover of Thin Gan Nyi Naung and speculated that the KNU may have reached an arrangement and withdrawn.
“The resistance pulled back. There wasn’t even gunfire when they took the road. Overnight, the troops moved in, and by morning they were already at Thin Gan Nyi Naung. Airstrikes only hit the western side. Something must have been coordinated. Otherwise, why did the offensive that dragged on for two years suddenly succeed now? The BGF clearly played a role—not so much on the ground, but in coordination,” the analyst said.
On September 7th, the junta commission declared that by securing the Kawkareik–Thin Gan Nyi Naung–Myawaddy stretch of the Asia Highway, it had crushed the KNU’s “dream” of establishing a separate Kawthoolei state through control of Myawaddy, Kawkareik, and Hpa-an.
Since retaking Thin Gan Nyi Naung, junta commission forces have extended operations as far as the Myawaddy Trade Zone.
A resistance fighter said the junta column, reportedly numbering over a thousand troops, may advance further toward Mae Kaw Kin and Minletpan on the Thai–Myanmar border, forcing locals to flee.
“They’ve already pushed to Minletpan. Villagers there are running toward Mae Kaw Kin. If that area is lost too, resistance forces will face heavy restrictions on their movements,” he said.
According to aid workers assisting displaced civilians, on the morning of September 8th, the junta commission also carried out airstrikes, dropping 500-pound bombs on Lay Kay Kaw New Town and Ywa Thit Kone village south of Myawaddy.
Military analysts note that by retaking the Asia Highway in September after more than a year of offensives under “Operation Aung Zeya,” the junta commission aims to reopen the road as a key trade route while continuing operations deeper into Myawaddy.
