Mae Sot, Thailand—

A resistance group fighting Myanmar’s military rule said on Sunday its fighters had repelled an attempt by junta forces to advance toward Myawaddy, a key town along the Thai border that was seized by rebels last week.

Karen National Union (KNU) spokesman Saw Taw Nee said in an interview that junta reinforcements had been trying to advance toward Myawaddy for several days but were repulsed in a battle about 40 kilometers away.

“It’s not easy to get here. They face a lot of difficulties,” he told Reuters. He said Karen National Union forces had been “blocking and intercepting” junta forces.

The KNU information could not be independently verified. A spokesman for the junta that seized power from an elected government in 2021 did not return a call from Reuters.

An anti-junta coalition led by the Karen National Union seized Myawaddy, a border town adjacent to Thailand, from military control on Thursday.

Saw Taw Nee said fighting broke out on Friday between the villages of Kawkareik and Kaw Nwet along Asia’s main Highway 1, which stretches west from the Thai border.

A spokesman for the Karen National Union said information received from the frontline showed the junta had suffered about 100 casualties in the fighting. “We know they lost an armed aircraft carrier and a military truck,” he said.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the powerful military deposed the elected civilian government in 2021, triggering widespread protests and attempts to suppress them with force.

Long-simmering anger against the junta has morphed into a nationwide armed resistance movement that is now increasingly teaming up with established ethnic rebel groups to challenge the military in much of Myanmar.

Resistance “takes time,” Sutaoni said. “We need some coordination with other groups … to defeat the military,” he said.

A spokesperson for the Karen National Union said the work of the broad anti-junta coalition also faced challenges.

“We are still discussing how to negotiate within the Karen community, how to unite and how to move forward,” he said, referring to members of the Karen ethnic group, which mainly lives in Karen state.

Su Toni said that the Karen National Union is most concerned about the more than 1 million displaced people within its territory, and called on the international community, including neighboring Thailand, to provide support.

“We do need to collaborate more and more on this issue in the future,” he said.

He urged Myanmar’s military junta to view their latest military setback as a sign that they should return power to the people.

“Please don’t waste any more time,” he said. “Now is the time and a great opportunity to start by listening to what people have to say.”