MEANING OF MYAWADDY
Last October, three rebel groups, including the powerful Arakan Army (AA), led Operation 1027, a major offensive that saw the resistance take wide swathes of military-controlled areas along the border with China.
“After 1027, we saw the AA in Arakan starting to push. When the AA eased, then we decided to push,” said KNU’s Nadah Htoo, describing how different rebel groups were hitting the military with successive offensives across multiple areas.
The junta “is fighting the war on too many fronts”, said Lalita Hanwong, an assistant professor at Thailand’s Kasetsart University.
“If you look back from the beginning of Operation 1027, the towns that the resistance forces seized have never been regained.”
In the battle for Myawaddy, KNU-led forces encircled the town and pushed the local junta administration to the point of collapse before taking over, said Nadah Htoo.
Reuters could not independently verify the tactics he described. The KNU’s armed wing has previously surrounded junta positions before launching decisive assaults.
Some 200 junta troops remain trapped near a bridge between Myawaddy and Thailand, Nadah Htoo told Reuters, saying they could either surrender to the Thais or the KNU.
The colonel and Bangkok-based security analyst Anthony Davis expect the junta to attempt to retake Myawaddy in the coming weeks to hinder resistance access to an important nearby highway that cuts through the heart of Myanmar.
Some army reinforcements have already been repelled by the KNU en route to the town, and Nadah Htoo said KNU’s political administrator would only take control of Myawaddy after the military operation concluded.
The junta is keen to regain control of Myawaddy, a critical trading centre and its main gateway to Southeast Asia, Davis said.
Around 14 per cent of Myanmar’s total trade via land borders between April 2023 and March 2024 – totalling about US$1.15 billion – went through Myawaddy, according to government data.
Control of territory near the borders can also be lucrative: The UN and the British government have in the last year accused senior KNA leaders of using territory near Myawaddy to run scam centres and illegal casinos.
Reuters could not determine how resistance forces have deployed the customs revenue collected at border points they control. The ISP think-tank said trade at some crossings was suspended.
