Daniel Pedersen

Daniel Pedersen

Mae Sot, Thailand

April 13, 2009

The battle for the Karen National Liberation Army’s Sixth Brigade 201st battalion headquarters Wah Lay Kee, just over the Thai border in Burma, continued Monday afternoon.

Fighting broke out on Sunday night at about 7pm and an ensuing skirmish lasted about half an hour.

On Monday, as Thailand celebrated Songkran and television images showed areas of Bangkok in flames, the morning began quietly for the KNLA.

But in the afternoon a joint force of about 40 soldiers from the Burma Army and its ally, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, launched a fresh attack against the 201st base camp.

Seven 81mm mortars were launched at the camp, but the KNLA hit back with RPG and small arms fire.

As the DKBA and soldiers of Burma’s ruling military junta, the State Peace and Development Council retreated, one of their men was killed and three were injured.

Wah Lay Kee is a significant base camp that the KNLA lost but won back at the beginning of last year’s rainy season on June 30.

At this stage there have been no casualties on the KNLA side.

KNLA Colonel Nerdah Mya said his soldiers had pushed the enemy back to its base camp.

“The fighting has eased off for now, but we are still pursuing them,” he said, at about 4.25pm Monday.

In Bangkok the civilian administration, currently looking to sell itself as a mediator of peace between the Karen National Union and the SPDC, declared a state of emergency and called on the army to stop the capital descending into anarchy.

Armoured vehicles plied the streets, protecting 50 key intersections and “installations”.

But protesters, battling to dislodge the current government still managed to set fire to a Bangkok Metropolitan Administration bus and seize three bus stops.

On Saturday the Association of South East Asian Nations’ current chairman was forced to cancel an ASEAN summit because Thai police allowed protesters – supporters of former prime minister and convicted felon Thaksin Shinawatra, known as the “red shirts” – to besiege the grounds of the resort set to host the summit.

During the past week Thaksin has been telephoning mass rallies of his supporters to incite rioting.

On Sunday night in a video address he called for a coup and said he would return to lead the country if the coalition government led by Democrat Abhisit Vejajjiva was toppled.

In the meantime in the country’s north, Thai soldiers sealed the Burmese border to try and stop fighting between the KNU and the SPDC from spilling into the Kingdom.

ENDS