A Karen National Union, or KNU, Fourth Brigade camp at Nam Ka Prao village in Southern Burma, Tenasserim Division was attacked by the Burma Army on Tuesday, despite a ceasefire agreement being in place, according to KNU general-secretary Mahn Sha.

The Battalion 203 camp, near the Thai border province of Prachuap Khiri Khan, was attacked on September 28 in the late afternoon by Burma Army Battalion 262. The KNU retreated. Battalion 203 is commanded by Gay Kaw Mya, a son of Gen Bo Mya, the KNU deputy chairman.

There is, as yet, no casualty count because communications with frontline soldiers have been interrupted. “We heard that the villagers living near the camp all ran away and the SPDC [the ruling State Peace and Development Council] soldiers took everything they could and destroyed what they couldn’t take,” said Mahn Sha.

According to a Karen man recently returned from the area who asked not to be identified, Nam Ka Prao village was rehabilitated just last year. The hamlet boasted about 30 homes, a primary school and a hospital run by the KNU.

The next round of ceasefire talks between the KNU and Rangoon are due to start in early October. The occasion will mark the fourth time negotiating teams from the two sides have met since late last year.

Mahn Sha said that even though they continue fighting, the two sides will carry on with the peace process. “But it can affect the ceasefire talks if they keep attacking us like this,” he added.

According to the KNU, on September 17, Burma Army Battalions 59 and 106 attacked a KNU Seventh Brigade camp at Mu Aye Pu in the Pa-an township area near the Thai province of Tak. One KNU soldier died, while a Rangoon trooper was killed and two others injured.