ENGLISH DEYEA NEWS

By SAW YAN NAING AND SAI SILP | Fighting broke out on Monday between troops of the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) and its breakaway group, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), forcing the evacuation of a Thai border village.

One KNLA soldier was reportedly killed when DKBA forces backed by Burmese army units overran a KNLA base.

Maj Shee Lay of KNLA Battalion 201 told The Irrawaddy: “The DKBA took over one of our Battalion 201 bases. One of our soldiers was killed, one injured and one was arrested. They seized some of our weapons.”

The fighting continued through Monday as the KNLA, military wing of the Karen National Union, attempted to retake the base.

Across the nearby border, in the Pob Phra district of Thailand’s Tak Province, the village of Phadee was evacuated and a Thai army group was sent to the area to investigate.

Monton Sawangnaphalai, chairman of Tak Province’s Roumtaipattana sub-district office, responsible for Phadee village, told The Irrawaddy that children and elderly people were being given priority in the evacuation. Phadee has a population of more than 300.

The fighting in neighboring Karen State broke out before dawn on Monday. Maj Shee Lay said his KNLA battalion was regrouping for an attempt to retake the base, occupied by about 30 DKBA soldiers of Battalion 907.