Battle of Thaw Le Hta

Thaw Le Hta offensive
Date26 April 2021
Location
Thaw Le Hta, a Tatmadaw military base located by the Salween River and Myanmar–Thailand border
17°58′58″N 97°44′00″E / 17.98275°N 97.733337°E / 17.98275; 97.733337
Result

KNU victory

  • KNLA captures and destroys a Tatmadaw military base
  • Tatmadaw retaliates with airstrikes in Kayin State
Belligerents

 Myanmar

Karen National Union

On 26 April 2021 the Tatmadaw and the Karen National Liberation Army (the armed wing of the Karen National Union) clashed near the Myanmar–Thailand border.[1][2] The fighting ended with the capture and scorching of a Tatmadaw military base by the Karen National Liberation Army. The Tatamdaw responded with airstrikes in Kayin State.[2] As of late April, 2021, Al Jazeera described the clashes as "the fiercest fighting between the Tatmadaw and an ethnic armed group since the 1 February coup."[3]

The clashes occurred in the backdrop of increasing violence and protests in Myanmar caused by the Tatmadaw's coup on 1 February 2021. Prior to the clashes, international organisations and analysts, such as the United Nations Special Envoy on Myanmar, warned that an escalation in violence could lead to a nationwide civil war.[4] The clashes also broke a brief period of "relative calm" that followed the ASEAN Summit held two days earlier.[3]

  1. ^ Ratcliffe, Rebecca (27 April 2021). "Myanmar: ethnic armed group seizes military base near Thai border". the Guardian. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Fighting erupts in Myanmar; junta to 'consider' ASEAN plan". Reuters. 27 April 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Fighting erupts in eastern Myanmar near Thai border". aljazeera.com. 27 April 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
  4. ^ "UN envoy warns of civil war in Myanmar without Security Council action". France 24. 31 March 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2024.