Burma Army Action in Karen Districts, Myanmar, Escalates

Karen State, Myanmar is currently suffering the largest offensive by the Burma Army since 1997, according to Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW).

|PIC1|The offensive, according to eyewitnesses, has seen further killings, the burning of villages, the abduction of civilians, and forced labour for the Burma Army.

A relief team working in eastern Myanmar known as the Free Burma Rangers, have claimed that the number of displaced people in Karen state has risen to over 18,000, up 2,000 people since reports from the Rangers in late May.

It is claimed that in one area over 800 civilians were captured and forced to work as porters for the military along with over 1,000 prisoners.

In the most recent reported attack, Burma Army Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 362 attacked and burned the village of Ger Baw Kee in the northwestern District of Muthraw on 2nd June.

The villages of Naw You Hta and Kay Pu also suffered their third day of mortar attacks by three Burma Army Battalions on the 1st June.

|QUOTE|It has been reported by porters, who have escaped from the military, that the Burma army has intentions to expand its operation further by attacking Myaunglebin, Toungoo and Muthraw Districts.

According to CSW at least two further divisions of the Burma Army are moving closer to these areas.

Attacks on unarmed civilians by the military continue to occur. Villagers have been shot at point-blank range and several bodies have been found severely mutilated and beheaded.

The Free Burma Rangers have also reported that the Burma Army Byaung Shin Special Battalion has, since May 13th, been attempting to capture children who go to school in army controlled areas, but whose parents live in the hills east of Toungoo.

|AD|The attacks of the Burma Army have had dire effects on civilians living in Myanmar. On 20th May in Muthraw District a 17 year old boy was killed and another wounded when the army fired upon villagers in a farm hut in the southern Luthaw Township.

Also in Nyaunglebin District a Karen woman who was 5 months pregnant was killed by a Burma Army landmine.
The international community has recently shown more attention to the situation in Myanmar as it has become more desperate. On May 31st the Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett condemned the decision of the Burmese Government to extend the house arrest of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, and is the leading pro-democracy activist of Myanmar and leader of the National League for Democracy in Myanmar. In 2003 she was again placed under house arrest by the military government.

The US has also expressed alarm at the continued detention of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi along with other pro-democracy figures. Furthermore the US announced its intention to seek a UN Security Council resolution on the situation in Myanmar.

The Advocacy Director of CSW, Tina Lambert said “It is difficult to imagine the indiscriminate brutality of these atrocities. Whilst we are pleased to see the US putting more pressure on Burma through the UN Security Council, we urge the rest of the international community to follow their lead and seek an end to these attacks by supporting a clear resolution.”