There was a skirmish between the New Mon State Party and the Karen National Union (KNU) in Yebyu Township, Tanintharyi Region, near southern Mon State’s Ye Township at around 1pm on 8 September.
Officials from both armies confirmed that the skirmish took place near Thè Chaung Phyar Village in the Ah Lel Sa Khan Village Group in Yebyu Township.
The eastern part of Ah Lel Sa Khan Village Group is controlled by the NMSP, but it is next to an area where the KNU are active.
The KNU’s Dawei District Liaison Officer U Win Khaing said: “It’s true that there has been a skirmish. It took place at Thè Chaung (Phyar) Village.”
Saw See Si, the KNU secretary for Lal Do Soe Township (also known as Yebyu Township) sent a letter to the village administrators on 24 August informing them that the KNU was going to resume activities in their administrative area, according to a letter received by the Than Lwin Times.
Nai Win Hla, the NMSP head of Home Affairs told the Than Lwin Times that the NMSP had informed the Union and Peace Dialogue Joint Committee’s (UPDJC’s) Hla Maung Shwe, the Tanintharyi Region’s Security and Border Affairs Minister, and state-level Joint Ceasefire Monitoring Committee (JMC) about the skirmish to prevent any escalation of the fighting.
He said: “The issue of regional administration is still complicated, it’s not yet complete. The recent incident didn’t happen intentionally.”
The KNU was one of eight ethnic armed organisations (EIOs) that signed the nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA) with the former U Thein Sein administration on 15 October 2015.
The NMSP is one of 13 EAOs that have not yet signed the NCA.
Reporting by Chan Soon for the Than Lwin Times
Translated by Thida Linn
Edited in English by Mark Inkey for BNI
