The Karen National Union (KNU)’s armed wing and allies on Friday recaptured the Myanmar–Thai border town of Mawdaung in Tanintharyi Region after a hiatus of 35 years, according to resistance fighters.
The hill town is located at the Singkhon Pass border where Thailand’s Prachuap Khiri Khan Province is at its thinnest. It served as the headquarters of the KNU’s Myeik District until the junta occupied it in 1990.
The Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) and allied resistance groups launched an offensive to seize the town four days ago and sent the last of regime soldiers and administration officials fleeing to the Thai side on Friday morning.
“All I can say right now is that we control the whole town,” a fighter from the KNLA’s 4th Brigade told The Irrawaddy.