According to NMSP officials in the area, Nai Shaung, the leader of a newly-formed Mon splinter group known as the “Rehmonnya” group has asked permission from the Burmese government to set up their base in Lamine Sub-Township in the southern part of Mon State.

The Rehmonnya group officially aligned itself with the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) in mid-October of 2009; the group also reportedly plans to accept the SPDC’s offer to make the group a Border Guard Force.

According to a New Mon State Party (NMSP) Chairman from Taung pyin village in Lamine Sub-Township, Nai Shaung’s group has asked permission from the SPDC to construct its base in an area near the villages of Taung pyin, Taung bone, Kaw dood and War gyi villages.

NMSP Chairmen from the area told IMNA’s reporters that they will work to prevent a clash between their own armed wing, the Mon National Liberation Army (NMLA), and the Rehymona group and in the name of preserving stability in the region.

The Rehmonya group first earned attention from the NMSP in February of this year, when the NMSP officially designated the group as a “Mon Splinter Group”. Since then, reports of Rehmonya activity have surfaced intermittently; the group repeatedly harassed villagers living on the Thailand-Burma border for funds during the summer of 2009. Until Nai Shaung’s meeting with South East Commander Thet Naing Win in Moulmein this October, the group was chiefly located in Tenasserim Division and Ye Township southern Mon State.

IMNA’s October 20th report covered the alliance between Nai Shaung’s group and the SPDC. New Mon State Party officials quoted in the story expressed their concern about the potential for an outbreak of violence between Mon splinter groups (like the Rehmonya group) and the NMSP; hostility between various Mon groups could potentially threaten the largely united Mon front that exists within Burma.