Two Kachin teachers were gang raped then killed by Burmy Army soldiers on January 19 after an Kawng Hka Shabuk Village, Muse District, Northern Shan State.
Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) is condemning the injustices committed against the two women, identified as Maran Lu Ra, aged 20 and Tangbau Hkawn Nan Tsin, 21, who were teachers from Myitkyina working with the Kachin Baptist Convention.
CSW is calling for the Burmese government to immediately stop the military offensive in ethnic areas, and hold the perpetrators accountable for their actions.
"Burma Army troops came into the church ground where the girls were sleeping and raped and then beat them to death. Villagers nearby heard the girls screaming and when they went to check they saw Burma Army boot prints and the raped and bloodied bodies of the dead girls," a source told CSW.
"The church members went to the Burma police in this area, but the police have taken no action."
Mervyn Thomas, Chief Executive of CSW lamented the ongoing violations against human rights in Burma. "This tragic rape and murder of two young Christian Kachin teachers is yet another example of the continuing severe violations of human rights in Burma, the prevailing culture of impunity for the military, and the persistent and widespread use of rape and sexual violence by the Burma Army," he said.
The CSW is also calling on the British government to assist by sending a team of experts to Burma to investigate the attack.
"We urge the international community to act to uphold the provisions of the Declaration to End Sexual Violence in Conflict and the UK's own Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative, and we call on the government of Burma to end the war against the Kachin people and engage in a genuine political dialogue and peace process," added Thomas.
The Kachin Women's Association Thailand (KWAT) has already recorded over 70 number of gang-rape, rape and attempted sexual violence cases by Burma Army troops in Kachin and northern Shan states ever since the Burma Army broke the 17-year ceasefire with the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in June 2011.
