The Myanmar military proxy Border Guard Force (BGF) in Karen State has withdrawn hundreds of its troops from a shared base with the junta, raising questions about shifting loyalties, according to local sources.
The base in question is located in Brigade 5 of territory controlled by the Karen National Union/Karen National Liberation Army (KNU/KNLA), according to a source from within the ethnic armed organisation cited in a Monday report by the Thai PBS news group. The location is said to sit opposite Thailand’s Sop Moei District in Mae Hong Son province.
The withdrawal of some 300 BGF soldiers follows a January 11 announcement by their commander Saw Chit Thu that he would no longer accept financial support, such as salaries, from the military council, declaring the BGF to be proceeding as “neutral” in the fight against the junta, according to the Thai PBS article.
Saw Chit. . .
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