Battle of Demoso (2022)

Battle of Demoso (2022)
Part of Myanmar civil war (2021–present)
Date January 2022 Location Demoso, Demoso Township, Karenni State, Myanmar 19°32′38″N 97°09′43″E / 19.544°N 97.162°E / 19.544; 97.162 Result Ongoing
Belligerents
Karenni Nationalities Defence Force[1] Karenni PDF Karenni National Progressive Party Karenni Army	Tatmadaw
Units involved
Unknown	427th Light Infantry Battalion
Casualties and losses
At least 15 dead[2]	At least 350 killed (anti-junta claim)[3]
At least 2 dead; more than 150,000 displaced[4]

The Second Battle of Demoso began when the Myanmar Tatmadaw attacked Karenni positions to retake parts of Demoso controlled by anti-junta forces.^[5][6]

During the battle, the Tatmadaw destroyed numerous churches and schools.^{[7] [8]}

The Tatmadaw claimed that they retook Demoso on 20 August 2025. However, anti-junta forces claim that only the central parts of the town and a few outlying villages were captured. Heavy fighting is still supposedly occurring.^{[9] [10]}

References

1. Life and death on the front lines of fighting in Myanmar. Lorcan Lovett. August 11, 2023. Al-Jazeera English.
2. Video: 15 resistance fighters die in Kayah fighting. October 5, 2022. The Irrawaddy.
3. Resistance in Myanmar’s Demoso Claims It Killed 350 Junta Troops in Jan-March. April 4, 2022. The Irrawaddy.
4. Myanmar: Military onslaught in eastern states amounts to collective punishment. Amnesty International. May 31, 2022
5. Hundreds of junta troops close in on Karenni State’s Demoso. Esther J. Myanmar Now. August 18, 2022
6. Karenni State’s eastern Demoso Township under siege by military. Nyein Swe. May 23, 2023. Myanmar Now.
7. Burned churches: Myanmar’s junta accused of abuses against the Christian minority July 21, 2022. France 24
8. “The World Must Know” Karenni Human Rights Group. February 2022. Republished in Public Voice Television
9. Myanmar’s military retakes a strategic town 2 years after the resistance captured it. AP News. August 20, 2025.
10. Resistance forces say junta has not yet secured full control of Demoso. Network Media Group. August 22, 2025.