ABSTRACT
The re-unification of the NMSP was finally achieved in late 1987. Unfortunately, one consequence of this development was an increase in tensions between the party and its erstwhile senior partner in insurgency, the KNU. Mon-Karen relations deteriorated rapidly in 1988 and by the middle of the year the NMSP and KNU found themselves engaged in a viscous armed conflict over control of the lucrative Three Pagodas Pass trade routes.
