Jury Chai : At 8:40 a.m. in the center of Myawaddy, fighting erupted between a faction of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) and State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) troops [Burmese government]. Five Myawaddy residents have been pronounced dead.
The fighting lasted until 11 a. m. and restarted this afternoon at 1:30 p.m.. The five pronounced dead are said to be Myawaddy residents, but this cannot be validated as of yet. Once the fighting occurred no one was allowed outside.
“Yes, many have died. Until now, you could hear shooting, so we cannot go out,” said one Myawaddy resident this morning.
In April 2010, the Burmese government asked all ethnic minority militias to become part of the Border Guard Force, essentially working for the Burmese government. At that time the DKBA accepted and was given a government seal to wear as troops for the SPDC. According to a member of the New Mon State Party, living in Myawaddy, this faction of the DKBA, which began fighting at Myawaddy this morning, removed their Border Guard Seals and took up arms against the SPDC in the area.
The NMSP member also reported shelling falling on the Thai side of the border. Many factions of the Karen National Union (KNU) supported the DKBA in the fight.
Thai authorities on the Thai side of the border have reportedly tightened security in response to the conflict on the Burmese side of the border.
