Thursday, October 6, 2011

Fighting erupts between gov’t, KNLA near Three Pagoda Pass

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Thursday, 06 October 2011 18:51 Kun Chan

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – A villager who served as a porter for the Burmese army and a Burmese government soldier were injured during fighting between Burmese government troops and the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) near Three Pagoda Pass on Thursday.

The 15-minute fight involved about 50 government soldiers from Light Infantry No. 543 and 20 Karen soldiers under Brigade No. 6 between Kyaukgu and Myaingthaya villages about 20 kilometres west of Three Pagoda Pass in Karen State on the border with Thailand.

A government soldier and Myint Thein, 47, of Tadain village were injured.

Troops of the Karen National Liberation Army stand for inspection. Photo: Mizzima

A woman in the village told Mizzima that she went from the monastery to her home at around seven o’ clock. "At around half past eight, the army entered the village and took three villagers as guides," she said. "Later, the fighting started.”

Myint Thein was sent to a Christian hospital in Sangklaburi in Kanchanaburi Province in Thailand, according to a villager.

An officer in KNLA Brigade No. 6 said that it launched an ambush against the government troops. No casualty figures were known, he said.

The location where the fighting broke out was on the 65-mile-5-furlong Thanbyuzayat-Three Pagoda Pass Road.

Villagers said that on June 6, government Infantry No. 373 took 10 villagers from Myaingthaya Village and 24 from Apalone village and ordered them, including women, to march in front of the soldiers. Other villagers were forced to carry supplies, according to residents.

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