At least four skirmish broke out on Tuesday morning between the Karen National Liberation Army, the military wing of the Karen National Union, and Karen splinter groups aligned with Burma’s ruling junta, according to KNLA sources.

“Until this afternoon, there have been four clashes near the Thai-Burma border village of Thay Baw Bo,” an official from the KNLA headquarter told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday. “The enemies have reinforced the area with about one hundred soldiers and more battles are expected later today,” he added.

No causalities have yet been reported from today’s fighting.

The skirmishes occurred in KNU-controlled areas of 6th Brigade opposite Thailand’s Phop Phra district of Tak Province, where one of the junta-backed splinter groups, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, began operations against the KNU in early March with support from the Burmese army.

The DKBA left the KNU and negotiated peace with Burma’s military government in 1995.

Residents in Phop Phra district said that about 200 villagers have fled the area since last month in anticipation of the fighting.

A medic from the Mae Tao Clinic in Mae Sot, Thailand, told The Irrawaddy that four DKBA soldiers from Shwe Kokko village near Myawaddy, three KNLA soldiers from 6th Brigade, two villagers and one porter have been admitted to a hospital in Mae Sot after sustaining injuries from land mines.

Refugees in Noh Poe camp, opposite 6th Brigade on the Thai side of the border, remain watchful after reports that the DKBA may target the camp.

“We have to be careful since we heard that they [DKBA and Burma Army] will come and attack the camp,” one resident of Noh Poe said. “But so far, we have seen no sign of it.

Meanwhile, refugees in two other camps-Mae La, about 30 km outside Mae Sot, and Mae La Oon, opposite 7th Brigade in Thailand’s Mae Hong Son Province-have feared for several days that DKBA troops would attack the camps.

Camp authorities have warned residents to keep their lights out after dark under penalty of punishment. According to one camp resident in Mae La, refugees could lose their ID card, their refugee status and even their place in the camp if they do not follow the camp leaders’ warnings.

“If the DKBA came and burned the camp, we do not know where to escape because there are only mountains near Mae La camp,” said Mi Sha, a resident of Mae La.

Since last week, at least one NGO in the area canceled its visits to Mae La Oon near the conflict area, according to a staffer with a local aid group.