A brief skirmish that erupted earlier this month between the Tatmadaw and ceasefire signatory the Karen National Union (KNU) will be discussed at an upcoming monitoring meeting.
The fighting occurred Near Old Phyu Village in Tanintharyi Region on April 22. The Karen National Liberation Army’s Battalion 11 and troops from the KNU’s Company 3 exchanged fire with the Tatmadaw’s 265th Light Infantry Battalion for a few minutes around 10am.
“Now, everything has settled down. I think the incident took place due to a misidentification,” said Padoh Saw Beler, vice chair of the Tanintharyi Region Joint Monitoring Committee and a member of the KNU’s Mergui-Tavoy District Committee.
“We will discuss why [the clash] happened at the upcoming JMC-S meeting, which will be held on April 28,” he said.
Padoh Saw Beler added that he visited the site of the incident to investigate why the skirmish broke out.
A source close to the KNU and to the Tatmadaw said the skirmish was related due to a misunderstanding after local residents reported that outsiders had come to clear the forests near Old The Phyu Village. Members of the Tatmadaw light infantry battalion then went to the area to investigate the tip.
KIC News received information about both sides sustaining injuries in the incident, but the reports were denied by the KNU’s Mergui-Tavoy District Committee.
The KNU signed the nationwide ceasefire agreement in October 2015.
Translated by Thida Linn
Edited by Laignee Barron
