Myanmar rebels refuse to reopen highway to Thailand

The main Karen rebel group fighting the Myanmar military has refused to end its year-long closure of the Asian Highway to Myawaddy on the Thai border, saying the army could use it to advance on its positions.
Leaders of the Karen National Union (KNU) and other ethnic Karen armed groups — some of them allied with the military junta — met in late September to discuss reopening the road, according to the Myanmar news site The Irrawaddy.
Both the Myanmar junta and the Thai government have been requesting the reopening of the road to facilitate transport, which they say would bring down prices of food and other goods for consumers.
The Asian Highway links Myawaddy, located opposite Mae Sot district in Thailand’s Tak province, with Tamu in Sagaing region on the Myanmar-India border.
An hour-long stretch from Kawkareik to Myawaddy in Karen state has been closed since the KNU and its allies attacked Kawkareik in December last year.
The regime in Nay Pyi Taw has reportedly pressed its allies — including the Border Guard Force led by the warlord Saw Chit Thu — to negotiate with the KNU to reopen the road.
Other groups allied with the junta include the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army and the Karen National Liberation Army-Peace Council. Both are signatories to a 2015 ceasefire agreement and have engaged in talks with the regime since the 2021 coup.
KNU Brigade 6, which attended the September meeting, refused to reopen the highway because the junta could use it to advance on Myawaddy, a source told The Irrawaddy.
“Saw Chit Thu called for the road to be reopened but the KNU commanders refused,” he said.
Fighting was reported on the highway as recently as late September with remaining troops from the junta, according to resistance groups.
Meanwhile, civilians and transport companies are forced to take detours by way of other roads that are in poor condition, and pay tolls to various militia groups.
There are at least 40 checkpoints manned by armed groups on two alternative routes, The Irrawaddy reported. Around 1,000 vehicles use the routes each day to and from the border and Karen armed groups benefit from the tolls.