Fighting intensifies - Myanmar ethnic minority fighters clash with military on major trade route

In this photo provided by the Kokang online media, members of an ethnic armed forces group, one of the three militias known as the Three Brotherhood Alliance, check weapons the group allegedly seized from Myanmar's army outpost on a hill in Hsenwi township in Shan state, Myanmar, on Nov. 24, 2023. A major offensive against Myanmar's military-run government by an alliance of three militias of ethnic minorities has been moving at lightning speed, inspiring resistance forces around the country to attack. - (The Kokang online media via AP)

YANGON (AFP): Ethnic minority fighters clashed with Myanmar's military on a major trade route to Thailand on Friday, blocking traffic and sending people fleeing, residents and local media said.

Fighters from the Karen National Union (KNU) fought with the military at dawn in the town of Kawkareik in eastern Karen state, according to local media reports.