Min Thu Tha – An official of the Karen Border Guard Force (BGF) was shot dead last night, north of U Daung (Peacock) Lake in the border town of Three Pagodas Pass (TPP).
According to eyewitnesses, around 9pm last night, members of the Karen BGF were arguing in a field by U Daung Lake when Major Ye Naing of the Karen BGF was shot.
A TPP police officer who asked not to reveal his/her name said, “I don’t want to make any comment because this is the armed ethnic group’s issue. They must solve their own case.”
A local official of Karen National Union (KNU) surmised that the controversial shooting may have been drug related.
“They [the arguing soldiers] used to be followers of Saw Naw Tayar [of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA)]. We know that they were expelled from the army, and they are rumored to deal drugs.”
In the areas surrounding TPP, the KNU, DKBA, New Mon State Party (NMSP), BGFs, and Karen National Union/Karen National Liberation Army Peace Council (KNU/KNLA-PC) are all currently active.
A kidnapping group led by Nai Tun is also active in the region. Since February of this year, two kidnapping cases have occurred in TPP.
The Three Pagodas Pass-Thai border is considered to be a route for drug importation, and Thai authorities are strict on border crossings there.
