On October 22nd, village heads along with leaders from the New Mon State Party (NMSP) and the Karen National Union (KNU) came to an agreement regarding territorial boundaries between the two villages, Ba-Leh-Doon-Pite and Tee Wadoh located in Three Pagoda Pass (TPP) Township, where armed conflict between NMSP and KNU had recently occurred.

The chairperson of the KNU’s Brigade 6 and NMSP’s Deputy Commander-in-Chief Col. Banya Mae San along with Battalion Commanders from both sides reviewed yesterday’s incident that took place on the outskirts of Ba-Leh-Doon-Pite village. They then implemented a territorial boundaries division as per the agreement of village heads from Ba-Leh-Doon-Pite village and Tee Wadoh village.

“According to our agreement, we are planning for all villagers to return their homes, and to clear landmines and to have the respective groups take responsibility for landmine blast-related matters occurring anywhere in the area,” a senior NMSP leader told the Mon News Agency.

More than 100 Mon and Karen people had fled the conflict-affected villages and are still taking refuge in Three Pagoda Pass Town.

The NMSP military base and the KNU checkpoint camp in the conflict area has been relocated to set the two groups further apart.

The negotiations also resulted in an agreement between the two groups that only civilians are allowed to reside in the outskirts of the Ba-Leh-Doon-Pite village. No persons wearing a military uniform or any movement of armed force is allowed in the area. If the local people witness any military members from NMSP or KNU in the town, they are urged to report to the respective village head.

Map showing the dispute location (photo: Google Earth)

Central Committee members from the New Mon State Party (NMSP) and leaders from the Karen National Union (KNU) Brigade 6 met on October 20th at the KNU liaison office in Three Pagoda Pass Town, and agreed to reassert the territorial boundaries of the two conflict-affected villages to prevent further disputes.

Two skirmishes broke out at on the outskirts of Ba-Leh-Doon-Pite and Tee Wadoh village on October 17th and October 21st, and both clashes left casualties and loss of lives for both the KNU and NMSP.