Burmese Army Atrocities Continue

|TOP|The Burmese Army has executed new attacks against Karen villagers in Taungoo district. The result has been killings, arrests and forced labour, reports Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW).

According to the Committee for Internally Displace Karen People (CIDKP), in Bla Khi area an unidentifiable, mutilated body was discovered on 15th February. The body had had its throat cut and it’s left hand cut off. The Burmese Army had been operating in the area.

CIDKP has reported that at least 135 people have been taken from Kaw Thay Der, Kaw Law Kar, Ku Thay Der and Sar Bar Law Khi villages for the purpose of forced labour between 8th and 14th February.

Three men were arrested from Pau Pa and Yer Loe villages on 6th February. Five men were also arrested from Pau Pa on 14th of February by Burma Army Infantry Battalion 35. There are also reports of looting and extortion, report CSW.

|AD|There are reports that Karenni State was the scene of continued offensives in January. The Free Burma Rangers interviewed three fleeing Karenni families. According to CSW, one of those fleeing said:

"The Burma Army and their helpers ... were on their way to kill me. They had already killed one of my friends and cut off his head ... At that time they captured me and three others from our village ... as well as three from other villages. We were gathered together from ten surrounding villages for a prayer meeting when the Burma Army forces appeared and captured some of us.”

He continued: "We were tied up, beaten, punched then we were given electric shocks to our body. They struck us with rifle butts and one of them used a pistol to beat us. One man's jaw was broken, one man's skull was broken and for me I was not able to endure the torture. They did this to us one by one. One of us was then forced to go with the soldiers and my friend ... was killed. I may have been killed just as my friend was but I managed to escape ... I do not want to take revenge. I am just a villager, I will move away from them."

Mervyn Thomas, the Chief Executive of CSW said that: "We receive reports on a weekly, sometimes daily, basis of continuing crimes against humanity in Burma. The attacks are sickening - not only the use of forced labour, but rape, killings, beheadings and the grotesque mutilation of bodies.

"For far too long the world has failed to pay enough attention to the ongoing atrocities in Burma. The United Nations Security Council, the Association of South-East Asian Nations and others in the international community must make it a priority to bring an end to the genocidal dictatorship in Burma this year. We will be working tirelessly to help make that happen."