Negotiators from the government, military and a bloc of Burma’s non-state armed groups have agreed to convene the third session of the 21st Century Panglong Conference in January 2018.

Aung Kyi, the head of the Peace Commission, told DVB that they hoped the ethnic rebel alliance would be “involved in the peace process very soon”.

“We have no agenda to make a presentation or discuss anything at the conference,” said KIO spokesperson Naw Bo.

A Karenni leader stressed that delegates would aim to reach mutual agreements on behalf of all ethnic armed groups that are working towards a federal system.

Joining a rising chorus of voices objecting to the encroachment of Burma Army troops into territory in Karen State, hundreds of villagers in the state’s Hpapun Township staged a protest on Monday, calling on the military to withdraw its forces.

Plans to hold the next iteration of the government’s self-styled “21st Century Panglong Conference” have been pushed back. Instead of convening late this month, the third round of the high-level summit will not take place until February.