Ethnic groups plot along Thai border

Ethnic groups plot along Thai border

BANGKOK (Reuters): Anti-government ethnic groups in Myanmar met on Friday on the Thai border to discuss plans to counter a new military offensive, ethnic leaders told reporters.

Leaders of Karen National Union (KNU), Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP), Shan State Army (SSA) and Arakan Army met at a KNU base near Thailand's northern provinces of Mae Hong Son and Tak, 800 km north of Bangkok.

Their meeting comes after Myanmar's military government was reportedly helping a rival group to fight them.

Early this month, Yangon allowed the United Wa State Army (UWSA), an allied ethnic army, to repair a strategic 150-km road along the Myanmar-Thai border.