Karenni groups fighting the regime mistakenly attacked an unnamed ethnic armed organisation (EAO) they thought was delivering food to a Burma Army (BA) base in a village in Pekon Township, southern Shan State.

An anonymous officer from Battalion 3 of the Karenni Nationalities Defence Force (KNDF), who would not say which group they attacked on 28 June, said he thought they belonged to BA.

“There are no civilians travelling in the area, so we attacked the EAO by mistake,” he said.

The KNDF cut off food rations from a BA base set up in February in Warihsu Palai village.

”I think they have run out of food because Light Infantry Battalion 422 based in Mobye cannot travel to Warihsu Palai.”

Karenni resistance groups have surrounded BA troops in the village and issued a travel warning where fighting has been intermittent. The Mobye People’s Defence Force (PDF) have declared the Warihsu Palai area a war zone and warned civilians and organisations not to travel.

“Sometimes our troops attack them at close range and then return to our base. There has been no serious fighting in the area,” the KNDF officer said. But he said that Mobye PDF are likely to launch an offensive against the BA base at some point.

In February, there was heavy fighting in the Mobye sub township, where the base is located and the BA burnt down most of the houses in Warihsu Palai. To date, the residents have not been able to return to their village.