The Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) says it expects to be able to resolve its differences with the Myanmar government’s Border Guard Force (BGF) following three days of hostilities at the end of April.
Maj. Maung Lay of the DKBA said that he hopes the issue will be resolved within a week, telling Mizzima that on May 6 he visited Naypyitaw where he met for talks with the government’s Union Peace Making Committee Vice-chairman Aung Min.
“I went there to talk about the fighting in Myaing Gyi Ngu,” said Maung Lay. “We discussed ways to how to avoid conflict in the future. The Minister [Aung Min] said he will present the results of our discussion to his superiors. If it is approved, he will come to Kayin [Karen] State as soon as possible to discuss matters with the Kayin State government, the BGF and ourselves. I think it will take a maximum of one week to solve the problem.”
Maung Lay said that during their meeting, he told Aung Min that the DKBA wanted to maintain the ceasefire agreement, and suggested that a liaison group be formed to mediate between the DKBA and other ceasefire groups.
The hostilities in Myaing Gyi Ngu, situated in the Hpaan District of Karen State, erupted on April 27 and lasted for three days. Both sides reportedly suffered casualties during the fighting, and more than 1,000 local residents fled their homes.
On May 4, a DKBA delegation led by Maj. Maung Lay met with Kayin State Security and Border Affairs Minister Aung Lwin at the Kayin State government office in Hpaan, but the issue was not resolved satisfactorily, so the DKBA leader said he went to Naypyitaw to discuss matters with the central government official.
