Revolutionary allied forces with the entrance sign of Myawaddy town
Mizzima
Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) and people’s defence forces (PDFs) forces captured the Infantry Battalion (IB) 275 base, the last remaining junta-held garrison in Myawaddy Township on the morning of 11 April.
The KNLA-led force seized the IB 275 base at around 6:00 am on 11 April after the junta soldiers had fled the base, according to Thai media outlets such as Thai PBS North and The Reporters.
“We have confirmed the last remaining camp of Infantry Battalion 275 has fallen to us,” a member of Cobra column, one of the PDFs involved in the assault on the base, said to Mizzima at 7.00 am 11 April, straight after the capture of the base.
The defence forces launched their attack on the IB 275 base at noon on 9 April after negotiating with the soldiers on the base and, unsuccessfully, trying to persuade them to surrender.
Following the seizure of the base the junta also launched airstrikes in the area of the base at about 8:10 am on 11 April, according to the latest updates.
Currently, there are no Myanmar Army junta soldiers in Myawaddy Town, but Karen State Border Guard Force (BGF) troops are patrolling around the town in cars.
Though all shops in the town are closed the Thailand-Myanmar Friendship Bridge remains open, meaning that residents of Myawaddy can go over the bridge to Mae Sot in Thailand to escape the conflict.
On the evening of 10 April, before the defence forces had taken control of the IB 275 base, joint defence forces intercepted a junta convoy from the Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 55 base. The convoy, which included eight armoured vehicles, was intercepted near Gyaing Bridge just outside Mawlamyine, as it was on its way to back up the junta troops under attack at the IB 275 base in Myawaddy Town.
