Ethnic minority fighters clashed with Myanmar's military on a major trade route to Thailand on Friday, disrupting traffic and causing people to flee, according to residents and local media. Fighters from the Karen National Union (KNU) engaged with the military at dawn in the town of Kawkareik in eastern Karen state, as reported by local media.

The town is situated on the Asia Highway connecting the trade hub of Myawaddy on the Thai border with Myanmar's largest city, Yangon. Video footage from Kawkareik posted on social media depicted approximately a dozen trucks parked, with a plume of smoke rising into the sky as people sought shelter. AFP digital verification reporters have geolocated the video, which has not been previously published online. A resident of Kyondoe, a town approximately 20 kilometers west of Kawkareik along the highway, mentioned hearing artillery fire from nearby military bases since Thursday night.

"I saw jet fighters coming as well," said the resident, who opted not to be named for security reasons. “Residents from our Kyondoe town are fleeing. Very few men are left behind to take care of our houses. But since we saw jet fighters flying, we are now preparing to leave as well.” Myanmar has over a dozen ethnic minority armed groups, many controlling territory in the country's border regions and engaging in conflicts with the military since gaining independence from Britain in 1948.

Following the coup that deposed Aung San Suu Kyi's civilian government in February 2021, numerous "People's Defence Force" groups have emerged to combat the junta. PDF fighters have collaborated with troops from the KNU, including an assault on Kawkareik town last year.

The Asia Highway between Yangon and Myawaddy has been frequently blocked over decades of conflict between the military and the KNU. Myawaddy was the second busiest of Myanmar's six official border trade crossings with Thailand from April to November this year, handling nearly a billion dollars in imports and exports, according to Myanmar's commerce ministry.

Myanmar's two busiest trade hubs on its northern border with China have also been obstructed since last month by a separate offensive by ethnic minority fighters in Shan state.

These blockages have strangled cross-border commerce, depriving the cash-strapped junta of taxes and foreign exchange.