The Shwe Kokko Offensive was a failed offensive by Karen EAOs and the People's Defense Force (including rogue elements of the KNU/KNLA Peace Council and Kawthoolei Army splinter group) on the city of Shwe Kokko.[6]
| Shwe Kokko Offensive | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Myanmar civil war (2021–present) and internal conflict in Myanmar | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
|
|
 Karen National Liberation Army Brigade 7 (disputed)[1] | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 Nerdah Myah Saw Lat Kai and Saw Kyaw Kayaw[4] |
 Min Aung Hlaing Saw Chit Thu | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| At least 24 Killed[1] | At least 80 killed[5] | ||||||
| At least 10,000 refugees[1] | |||||||
Background
editShwe Kokko, a town in the Thai border area of Myawaddy District, serves as the headquarters of Saw Chit Thu's Karen BGF.[7][8]
Overtime, it gained notoriety as a gambling hotspot for Chinese tourists, a scam center, and a destination for human trafficking.[9][10] [11]
Kawthoolei Army
editOn 17 July 2022, ousted KNDO commander-in-chief, Nerdah Myah, formed the Kawthoolei Army to fight the Myanmar SAC junta independently.[12] According to Karen media, he formed the group after allegedly obstructing an investigation related to a massacre of 25 unarmed civilians.[13]
Offensive
editIn spite of animosity, KNLA Brigade 5, the Kawthoolei Army, a rogue faction of the KNU/KNLA Peace Council, and the People's Defense Force jointly launched attacks on Myanmar Army and BGF positions near Shwe Kokko.[14] Initially, the attacks went somewhat smoothly, resulting in the capture of at least five BGF outposts.[15]
However, starting in April 8th, the offensive began to falter as Myanmar Army Mi-35 helicopters started to bomb anti-junta positions.[2]
Aftermath
editBy April 11th, the BGF fully regained control of Shwe Kokko. At least 10,000 civilians of various nationalities fled to Thailand.[1] Allegedly, some KNLA commanders (such as the leader of Brigade 7) aided the BGF in exchange for profits from another Myawaddy fraud factory, KK Park.[1] Although Brigade 7 denied this charge, it announced that KTLA forces are forbidden from moving within their operational area.[1]
While Shwe Kokko did not face another attack, the Three Brotherhood Alliance and other anti-junta forces successfully crippled scam operations in the Kokang Region as part of Operation 1027 six months later.[16]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g Into the lion’s den: The failed attack on Shwe Kokko Frontier Myanmar May 11, 2023 Archived June 30, 2023, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b Villagers flee areas near Shwe Kokko as Karen State fighting escalates. Mizzima. April 9, 2023 Archived 2024-04-11 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Fresh Fighting Breaks Out Near Chinese Gambling Hub in Myanmar’s Karen State The Irrawaddy. Archived April 27, 2023, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ The KNU breakaway “Peace Council” faction Expels Two Commanders Who joined revolutionary offensive near Chinese mafia ‘s Shwe Kokko New City Myawaddy district Karen State. Karen News. April 11, 2023. Archived March 16, 2024, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Shwe Kokko Crime Hub Attacked for Funding Myanmar Junta: KTLA The Irrawaddy. Archived February 24, 2024, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Myanmar coup: Thousands of Burmese flee to Thailand after intense fighting BBC. April 7, 2023 Archived August 6, 2023, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Tower, Jason; Clapp, Priscilla A. (2020-07-27). "Myanmar's Casino Cities: The Role of China and Transnational Criminal Networks". United States Institute of Peace. Archived from the original on November 27, 2023. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
- ^ Nachemson, Andrew (2020-07-07). "The mystery man behind the Shwe Kokko project". Frontier Myanmar. Archived from the original on December 24, 2023. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
- ^ Chinese Mega-Project in Myanmar’s Kayin State Sparks Resentment And Worry. Radio Free Asia November 13, 2019 Archived October 21, 2023, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Scam City: How the coup brought Shwe Kokko back to life June 23, 2022. Frontier Myanmar Archived April 29, 2024, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Four Laotian trafficking victims freed from Myanmar casino faced regular beatings Radio Free Asia. February 16, 2023.Archived January 16, 2024, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ New armed group formed by ousted KNDO leader will not be recognised by KNU Myanmar Now. July 21, 2022 Archived March 21, 2024, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Kawthoolei Army: How a broken system and a disrespect for the rules of law in the KNU gave birth to another armed group in Karen State. Karen News. August 2, 2022. Archived February 22, 2024, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Resistance Raids Myanmar Junta Outposts Near Chinese Gambling Hub The Irrawaddy. April 7, 2023 Archived May 30, 2023, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ ရွှေကုက္ကိုမှာ စစ်ကောင်စီဘက် နဲ့ KNLA တိုက်ပွဲပြင်းထန် (Heavy fighting between the military council and the KNLA in Shwe Kokko) (in Burmese). Voice of America. April 7, 2023 Archived April 11, 2024, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Scam Centres and Ceasefires: China-Myanmar Ties Since the Coup. March 27, 2024. International Crisis Group. Archived May 10, 2024, at the Wayback Machine