Pekon clashes

Last updated

Pekon Clashes
Part of the Myanmar civil war
DateMay 24, 2021– present
(2 years, 11 months, 2 weeks and 4 days)
Location
Status Ongoing
Belligerents

Flag of PDF Myanmar.svg People's Defence Force

KNDF Flag.jpg Karenni Nationalities Defence Force [1]

Flag of the KNLA.svg Karen National Liberation Army
Casualties and losses
Unknown Unknown
  • As of May 12, 2024:
  • At least 10,000 refugees [2]


The Pekon clashes are a series of engagements between the Myanmar SAC junta and anti-coup factions in Pekon Township, Shan State.

Three months after the military coup, Karen militias raided and occupied a police station in Mobye. [3]

In late December 2023, various resistance groups of Operation 1111 were able to capture two junta military bases, Shwe Pyi Aye and Lwal Pator, in the township. [4] [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pekon Township</span>

Pekon Township is a township of Taunggyi District in the Shan State of Myanmar. The principal town is Pekon.

Laukkai is the capital of Kokang Self-Administered Zone in the northern part of Shan State, Myanmar. It is located east of the Salween River, which forms part of Myanmar's border with the People's Republic of China at its upper reaches. It is about 10 miles (16 km) away from Nansan, China. In Laukkai, Southwestern Mandarin and Chinese characters are widely used, and the Chinese renminbi is in circulation. It is the main town of Laukkaing Township of the Kokang Self-Administered Zone. It is 117 miles (188 km) from Lashio and 42 miles (68 km) from Kongyan. Its population is 23,435. Laukkai is notorious for its gambling, prostitution, human trafficking and online scams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kokang Self-Administered Zone</span> Self-administered zone in Shan State, Myanmar

The Kokang Self-Administered Zone, as stipulated by the 2008 Constitution of Myanmar, is a self-administered zone in northern Shan State. The zone is intended to be self-administered by the Kokang people. Its official name was announced by decree on 20 August 2010. It is recognized as illegal by the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arakan Army</span> Insurgent group active in Rakhine State, Myanmar

The Arakan Army, officially the Arakha Army is an ethnic armed organisation based in Rakhine State (Arakan). Founded on 10 April 2009, the AA is the military wing of the United League of Arakan (ULA). It is currently led by Commander-in-Chief Major General Twan Mrat Naing and vice deputy commander-in-chief Brigadier General Nyo Twan Awng. The Arakan Army states that the objective of its armed revolution is to restore the sovereignty of the Arakan people. In a February 2024 interview, Twan Mrat Naing claimed that the AA had grown to at least 38,000 troops. Anthony Davis, an expert of military and security, rejected this claim and estimated that it has at least 15,000 troops in Chin State and Rakhine State, in addition to around 1500 in Kachin State and Shan State. In the early 2010s, the Arakan Army fought alongside the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) against the Tatmadaw in the Kachin conflict. Following the 2016 outbreak of conflict in Rakhine state, AA became more heavily involved in the Arakan region. In 2019, AA would launch attacks on state security forces and the Myanmar Army would respond heightening clashes. The AA reached a ceasefire in late 2020 after eroding the central government's control in northern Rakhine. The power vacuum would be filled by the AA over the next 18 months with state-building efforts, like their COVID-19 vaccine rollouts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army</span> Ethnic insurgent group in northern Myanmar

The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) is an armed resistance group in the Kokang region of Myanmar (Burma). The army has existed since 1989, having been the first one to sign a ceasefire agreement with the Burmese government. The ceasefire lasted for about two decades.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pa-O National Army</span> Insurgent group in Myanmar

The Pa-O National Army is a Pa-O state sponsored militia in Myanmar (Burma). It was established in 1949 and is the armed wing of the Pa-O National Organisation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pa-O National Liberation Army</span> Ethnic armed organization in Eastern Myanmar

The Pa-O National Liberation Army is a Pa-O insurgent group in Myanmar (Burma). It is the armed wing of the Pa-O National Liberation Organisation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kuki National Army</span> Militant organisation

The Kuki National Army (KNA) is a Kuki insurgent group active in Northeast India. It is the armed wing of the Kuki National Organisation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">People's Defence Force (Myanmar)</span> Armed wing of the National Unity Government of Myanmar

The People's Defence Force is the armed wing of the National Unity Government in Myanmar. The armed wing was formed by the NUG from youths and pro-democracy activists on 5 May 2021 in response to the coup d'état that occurred on 1 February 2021 that put the military junta and their armed wing the Tatmadaw in power. The military junta designated it as a terrorist organisation on 8 May 2021. In October 2021, NUG's Ministry of Defence announced that it had formed a central committee to coordinate military operations across the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Myanmar civil war (2021–present)</span> Ongoing armed conflict in Myanmar since the 2021 coup detat

The Myanmar civil war, also called the Burmese Spring Revolution, Burmese civil war or People's Defensive War, is an ongoing civil war following Myanmar's long-running insurgencies, which escalated significantly in response to the 2021 military coup d'état and the subsequent violent crackdown on anti-coup protests. The exiled National Unity Government and major ethnic armed organisations repudiated the 2008 Constitution and called instead for a democratic federal state. Besides engaging this rebel alliance, the junta also contends with other anti-junta forces in areas under its control. Hannah Beech of The New York Times observed the insurgents are apportioned into hundreds of armed groups scattered across the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karenni Nationalities Defence Force</span> Armed resistance group in Myanmar


The Karenni Nationalities Defence Force is an armed insurgent group in Myanmar formed in response to the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état. The KNDF also includes other organizations, such as the KNPP, which an official regard as "good relations between the EAOs and the public" The KNDF has engaged in fighting with the junta, mainly with the 66th Light Infantry Division.

The following is a timeline of major events during the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), following the 2021 military coup d'état and protests. It was also a renewed intensity in existing internal conflict in Myanmar.

This is the list of important events happened in Myanmar in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation 1027</span> 2023–2024 anti-junta military operation in Myanmar

Operation 1027 is an ongoing military offensive conducted by the Three Brotherhood Alliance, a military coalition composed of three ethnic armed organisations in Myanmar: the Arakan Army (AA), Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), and Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), allied with other rebel forces in the country, against the Tatmadaw, Myanmar's ruling military junta.

The Three Brotherhood Alliance ;, also known as Brotherhood Alliance, is an alliance between the Arakan Army, Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, and the Ta'ang National Liberation Army formed in June 2019.

Operation 1107 is an ongoing joint military operation launched on 7 November 2023, by the Karenni National People's Liberation Front, Karenni Army, and Karenni Nationalities Defence Force against the Tatmadaw military junta in Myanmar, during the Myanmar civil war. It was launched in support of the concurrent Operation 1027 by other rebel forces in Myanmar.

Operation 1111 is an ongoing military operation in Myanmar launched by Karenni Ethnic Armed Organisations (EAOs) including the Karenni Army (KA), Karenni Nationalities Defence Force (KNDF) and Karenni National People's Liberation Front (KNPLF). The operation was launched concurrently with Operation 1107, with the goal to capture Kayah State's capital city of Loikaw.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rakhine offensive (2023–present)</span> Military operation in Myanmar

On November 13, 2023, the Arakan Army (AA), one of the dozens of ethnic resistance groups active in the civil war in Myanmar, launched a military offensive against Myanmar's military junta in Rakhine and southern Chin State. Fighting began concurrently with the launch of Operation 1027, which the Arakan Army, as a member of the Three Brotherhood Alliance, also participated in. The offensive broke an informal ceasefire between the Arakan Army and the junta that had been in place for a year. During the offensive, the Arakan Army would capture several towns in northern Rakhine including Mrauk U, the capital of Mrauk-U District and the historical capital of Arakan. They would then focus on attacking Sittwe, the state capital, and Ann, the headquarters of the junta's western command. International Institute for Strategic Studies reported AA’s sweeping gains "are already enough to enable self-rule over a large portion of the Rakhine homeland and to reshape the wider balance of power in Myanmar."

The Kachin Independence Army's (KIA) offensive in Kachin State, known unofficially as Operation 0307, is an ongoing military operation against the Tatmadaw military junta of Myanmar which began on 7 March 2024. Primarily centred along the road connecting Myitkyina to Bhamo, Operation 0307 was launched to capture junta bases which could threaten Laiza, the headquarters of the KIA. Operation 0307 was launched alongside concurrent KIA offensives against Hpakant and northern Shan State, and concurrent resistance offensives throughout Myanmar.

References

  1. Karenni Groups Accidentally Attack EAO In Pekon Township. July 1, 2022. Kantarawaddy Times. Archived 15 January 2023 at the Wayback Machine
  2. Residents flee heavy fighting in Mobye town, Shan State. Development Media Group Archived 12 May 2024 at the Wayback Machine
  3. "대담해지는 미얀마 시민군..경찰서 태우고 군경 수십 명 사살". 다음뉴스 (in Korean). Archived from the original on 24 May 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  4. The Irrawaddy (27 December 2023). "Myanmar's Operation 1027 Against The Junta Two Months On". The Irrawaddy . Irrawaddy Publishing Group. Archived from the original on 26 April 2024. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  5. The Irrawaddy (29 December 2023). "Junta losses mount: Resistance seizes more bases in southern Shan State". Facebook . Meta Platforms Inc. Archived from the original on 29 December 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023. [self-published]