Heavy fighting has been raging in the town of Myawaddy on Myanmar's border with Thailand since Tuesday evening following an attack on military strongholds by an alliance of rebel forces, according to local media and eyewitnesses.
A revolutionary alliance led by the Karen National Union's armed wing, the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), had already inflicted heavy losses on the military in the area at the end of last week, and they now seem to have launched new attacks on army positions.
"Karen rebels and its alliance forces entered the city and took control of all the major government offices in the town," Saw Yoon Ngal, a resident of Myawaddy, told dpa.
The military retaliated by launching airstrikes and attacks targeting the KNLA, he said, adding that buildings in the Myawaddy trade zone were set on fire amid the heavy fighting.
"The death toll is not yet known," Saw said.
Local media confirmed the reports.
Myanmar's military, which has ruled brutally since a coup in February 2021, has recently suffered heavy losses in the fight against numerous guerrilla groups and is considered weakened.
Myawaddy is considered the largest trade hub on the border between Myanmar and Thailand.
After a week of fighting in Myawaddy, over 600 junta soldiers and their families surrendered to the KNLA on Friday. Rebel forces encircled the town on Sunday night and seized control of seven military bases in and around Myawaddy.
In response to the fighting on the border, the foreign minister of Thailand has said his country is prepared to accept 100,000 refugees fleeing fighting in Myanmar, the Bangkok Post reported on Wednesday.
The bridges across the border river are now controlled by the KNLA, according to eyewitnesses.