The Burmese Army troops have blamed villagers in Pru Hso township, Karenni State after the Karenni armed resistance group attacked junta troops early this month.

Gun-fire rang out from the side of the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) Army on March 8 at 6 am between Mapro Shay and Loja villages in Pru Hso Township.  Reportedly the fighting killed three Burmese Army soldiers, injuring at least a dozen of them while only one soldier from the KNPP was wounded.

As gun fire broke out between the LIB 531 and the KNPP, hundreds of villagers from Mapro Shay and Loja villages tried to hide in order to avoid torture by the government troops, according to reliable sources.

Days after the exchange of fire two villages are being accused by the angry government troops of supporting the KNPP armed group, said the source.

He said, “The villagers are always afraid of them (Burmese Army). Worse still they (villagers) are afraid of what they (Burmese Army) would do to them after the casualties. The villagers were threatened. They were accused that they fed them (KNPP).”

The fighting between the Burmese Army and the KNPP occur often in Karenni State and the government troops often blame the innocent villagers.

Christian religious leaders into missionary work in these areas said both sides should fight away from villages so as not to harm any villagers.

“The fighting must be prudent. It must not harm villagers or intend to harm the villagers,” he said.

KNPP Army General Bee Htoo said the fight is for their autonomy and claimed his group had seized three MA1 and a machine gun from recent attacks.

The SPDC and KNPP signed a cease-fire agreement in 1995, which lasted only three months after Burmese troops arrested some of the group's members, violating the agreement.