Landmines Prevent Displaced Residents from Returning to Northern Kawkareik
Displaced residents from northern Kawkareik Township in Karen State are unable to return to their homes as Myanmar junta forces have heavily landmined villages under their control, according to local sources.
In September, resistance coalition forces led by the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) captured junta outposts in Kawtsanhpon and Kwimaungtaing villages. Following these losses, regime troops planted landmines around adjacent villages—including Myapataing, Naunghtetpan, Lankhobaing, and near a monastery in Htiphosan—to prevent resistance advances.
“The junta has laid landmines across these villages,” a KNLA fighter said. “Though landmines have killed some livestock, there are no human casualties yet because residents remain displaced and have been unable to return home.”
In addition to landmines, junta forces stationed in Kawkareik are carrying out daily kamikaze and attack drone strikes against areas held by resistance forces. Regime troops are also rotating personnel and preparing for potential ground offensives.
“The junta recently rotated troops from Hpa-An, the capital of Karen State, to positions around Htiphosan,” a KNLA intelligence source said. “We expect they may launch a ground operation in the coming days.”
According to resistance reconnaissance, a large reinforcement of soldiers from the junta’s Hpa-An-based Light Infantry Division 22 (LID 22) arrived at military bases in Kyondoe, Kawkareik, and Myawaddy townships in the first week of November.
The forces were deployed in military trucks alongside six-wheeled transport vehicles carrying weapons and ammunition.
More than 6,000 residents from at least 20 villages across northern Kawkareik Township remain displaced by ongoing conflict, taking shelter in nearby village tracts including Htawtkawkoe and Nabu, according to local relief organizations.
