"Since late 2021, fierce fighting has raged between the SAC regime and Karen resistance forces in Dooplaya District (KNU’s 6th Brigade) on both sides of the Dawna Range, south of the Asia Highway, Burma’s main trade route to Thailand. Heavy shelling and airstrikes by SAC forces have killed or injured 71 civilians and displaced over 86,000, many of whom are sheltering in makeshift IDP camps along the Thai border. This briefing paper describes the unfolding of conflict, instigated by the regime’s incursions into KNU ceasefire territories, and fueled by mobilization of thousands of SAC troops, including from bases across Dooplaya which were never withdrawn despite the KNU’s 2012 ceasefire. A key flashpoint has been the Lay Kay Kaw "Peace Town”, south of Myawaddy, funded by Japan for returning refugees. This flagship peace project now lies deserted and bomb-scarred, its over 3,000 residents once again fleeing for their lives. This must serve as a lesson for Japan, not only against premature funding of refugee return, but also provision of billions of dollars in development aid to the Naypyidaw government without benchmarks of progress towards genuine peace. Japanese ODA has not only subsidized Naypyidaw’s war machine, but also funded strategic infrastructure projects such as the East West Economic Corridor (EWEC) which have facilitated quick deployment of the regime’s troops into conflict areas. As the SAC’s atrocities mount across the country, KPSN calls for stronger economic and diplomatic pressure on the regime, and urges Japan to suspend all ongoing ODA projects, including bridge building along the EWEC. KPSN also urges foreign donors to provide increased cross-border humanitarian aid to IDPs.....Post-coup eruption of conflict in Dooplaya...For nearly ten years after the KNU's 2012 bilateral ceasefire, there was little armed conflict in Dooplaya. However, as the regime began cracking down on anti-coup protesters in the months following the coup on February 1, 2021, tensions began to rise between the regime’s forces and the KNU in the KNU’s 6th Brigade, where anti-regime activists were sheltering. SAC troops set up new checkpoints along roads and carried out random searches in villages. In September, the SAC sent armed patrols into KNU territories south of Kawkareik, in violation of ceasefire protocols. On September 30, KNU troops resisted, and the ensuing fighting spread into six villages, causing thousands to flee their homes. At the same time, KNU troops sought to block the SAC from sending reinforcements along the road from Thanbyuzayat to 3 Pagodas Pass, and on October 11, the SAC attacked and seized the KNU’s Lu Shah checkpoint, 20 kilometers southeast of Thanbyuzayat. The fighting displaced four villages in the area.....Fighting erupts in Lay Kay Kaw "Peace Town", spreads southwards along Thai border...The “Peace Town” of Lay Kay Kaw south of Myawaddy, funded by Japan for returning refugees after the KNU ceasefire, was one of the areas suspected of harbouring anti-regime activists. At the end of September 2021, SAC troops from LIB 560, under Tanintharyi-based Military Operations Command (MOC) 13, deployed to Dooplaya before the November 2020 election, started carrying out house-to-house searches in Lay Kay Kaw, but did not initially make any arrests. However, on December 13, 2021, Brigadier General Myint Htun Naing, the MOC 13 commander, arrived at the SAC artillery base just south of Lay Kay Kaw and on December 14 led over 150 troops into Lay Kay Kaw, forcibly entering houses and arresting suspected activists. On December 15, the troops returned at 10 am, beating and carrying out further arrests. In total 22 men were arrested, tied up and taken to Myawaddy for interrogation, including two former NLD MPs. The fate of those arrested remains unknown. Local KNU officials immediately protested the arrests, but SAC troops ignored this, and continued searching through Lay Kay Kaw, causing the KNLA to open fire. Heavy fighting ensued, with SAC shelling indiscriminately into Lay Kay Kaw from nearby “Artillery Hill”, causing the town residents to flee in terror. Over the next few weeks, fighting between SAC and Karen resistance forces spread east and south along the Thai border, displacing thousands more villagers. On December 23, SAC started launching airstrikes over Lay Kay Kaw to try to dislodge the KNLA. During early 2022, fighting continued to spread southwards. On March 21, KNLA temporarily seized the SAC base at Maw Khee, 50 kilometers south of Lay Kay Kaw, and carried out successful ambushes of SAC troop reinforcements from Myawaddy, prompting further retaliatory airstrikes. On May 18, 2022, KNLA forces managed to seize the SAC base at Thay Baw Boe on the Thai border, 30 kilometers south of Lay Kay Kaw, despite multiple airstrikes by SAC fighter jets and helicopters..."