[3] Fighting broke out on 21 October with a series of surprise attacks on the Asia Highway leading into Kawkareik and at government offices within the town.

[1] Ultimately, the resistance forces were unable to take the urban areas due to the junta's air and artillery strikes.

[2] In 2021, the State Administration Council junta seized power in the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, sparking a civil war between the ousted National Unity Government (NUG) and renewing the long-standing Karen conflict.

[3] The battle itself was instigated by Boh (Lieutenant) L Say Warr, who serves the Kaw Thoo Lei Army (KTLA), a group established in July 2022.

Like in the July 2022 Battle of Loikaw, the junta's air strikes and multiple rocket launcher systems prevented the well-armed resistance forces from taking urban areas.

Saw Yan Naing of the KNLA Brigade 6, the objective of the attack was to force the junta to withdraw from positions in villages south of Kawkareik, not to take the city.