KNLA and Allied Forces Capture Kabawtu Base in Hpapun District — 68th Junta Position Seized in Mutraw Since 2021 Coup

Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) and allied resistance forces captured the Kabawtu military base in Hpapun District (Mutraw), Karen State, marking the 68th junta position seized in Mutraw District since the February 2021 coup. The resistance forces seized between 15 and 20 small arms, two machine guns, one mortar, landmines, grenades, and RPG rounds during the operation. The capture of Kabawtu continues the KNLA's systematic campaign to eliminate junta outposts in the deep-jungle terrain of Mutraw (Papun) District, one of the most heavily contested areas of Karen State and home to the Karen National Union's strongest administrative zone (Kawthoolei). Hpapun District has been the site of some of the most intense KNU/KNLA operations since the coup, with the resistance successfully dismantling the vast majority of the junta's outpost network in the district over 5+ years of fighting. The 68-position milestone since 2021 reflects the KNLA's methodical clearance of junta presence from Mutraw territory — transforming it into one of the most comprehensively resistance-controlled districts in Myanmar. The operation occurred in the same geographic zone as the April 15, 2026 SAC airstrike on Dae Bu Noh junior college that killed 4 civilians.