SAC Airstrikes Hit Villages Near Myawaddy, Karen State — Intense Ground Clashes with Heavy Junta Casualties

On April 18, 2026, Myanmar junta forces conducted airstrikes on villages in the Hpa-Lu area near Myawaddy Township, Karen State, accompanying intense ground clashes that resulted in heavy SAC casualties. Myawaddy — on the Thailand-Myanmar border and one of Myanmar's busiest trade corridors — remains a focal point of Karen resistance operations. The Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) and allied resistance forces have maintained sustained pressure on junta positions in Karen State following KNLA's brief capture of Myawaddy in April 2024. The April 18 fighting continued a pattern of sustained combat, with the SAC deploying airstrikes to support ground troops struggling against KNLA guerrilla operations in the surrounding hills and villages. Karen State's proximity to the Thai border gives resistance forces important supply and sanctuary access, while making civilian populations in border villages particularly vulnerable to SAC air attacks designed to depopulate areas supporting the KNLA.