By Ko Myo / MPA
Myanmar military forces have burned down more than 100 civilian homes in the country’s south after an offensive to recapture a strategic town on the Thai-Myanmar border stalled, local resistance fighters say.
On 13 February, junta troops razed properties in Lal Thel village, Tanintharyi Township, despite there being no active fighting in the immediate area. The incident was detailed in a recent statement by the Karen National Union (KNU) in the Myeik-Dawei district.
The destruction comes amid a struggling military campaign to retake Maw Daung, a critical border hub that fell to KNU-led allied resistance forces late last year.
“The KNU captured Maw Daung last year. To get it back, the military has been pushing up the road from Tanintharyi, but their advance has been halted at Thein Khun village,” a local resistance fighter told the MPA news agency.
He noted that the unit responsible for the arson in Lal Thel appeared to be moving toward the frontline, though it remained unclear if they were fresh reinforcements or a troop rotation.
Local sources report that Myanmar’s military has suffered heavy casualties around Thein Khun village due to repeated ambushes and defensive actions by entrenched resistance forces, preventing the junta from advancing further towards the border.
“Burning villages and looting property is standard practice for the military whenever they enter a settlement,” the resistance fighter observed. “They tend to escalate these actions particularly when they have been taking hits.”
Maw Daung was captured by allied resistance forces on 14 November 2025 in an operation that dealt a significant blow to the military council. During the battle, resistance fighters captured more than 40 prisoners of war and seized a substantial cache of heavy artillery and small arms.
The junta’s inability to break through resistance lines months later highlights the military’s ongoing struggles to regain lost strategic territory across the country.
