Myanmar's Karen guerrillas claim to have seized last army base defending key Thai border town

Hammocks used by members of a Myanmar militia are seen across the Moei river on the Myanmar side, as pictured from Thailand's Mae Sot district on April 11, 2024. - AFP

BANGKOK: Guerrillas from the Karen ethnic minority on Thursday (April 11) claimed to have captured the last of the army’s outposts in Myawaddy township in eastern Myanmar, virtually clearing the way for them to take over the town of Myawaddy, the major crossing point for trade with Thailand.

The Karen National Union, the ethnic group’s leading political body, said in a statement posted on Facebook that its armed wing, acting together with the affiliated Karen National Defence Organisation and allied pro-democracy forces, had captured the garrison of the army’s Infantry Battalion 275, about 4km (3 miles) to the west of the town before dawn on Thursday, after besieging it since the start of the week.