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Kren Rebels Abandon Myanmar Base



Karen Rebels Abandon Myanmar Base

 .c The Associated Press  

MAE HLA, Thailand (AP) - Karen rebels in Myanmar abandoned a key base today
after five days of bombardment by government troops. 

One guerrilla was confirmed killed in the battle around the base, which was
ringed by mines to slow advancing troops. 

Thai military officers and officials of the Karen National Union insurgent
group said the KNU's 7th Brigade headquarters at Tha Ko Sutha, near the Thai
border, had been abandoned. 

The 300 rebels defending the base broke into smaller groups and withdrew
deeper inside Myanmar - also known as Burma - to stage hit-and-run raids, KNU
officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity. 

The Karen rebels, who have battled for more autonomy for 50 years, have
suffered a series of military setbacks in recent years and control relatively
little territory. Their long-time capital was captured in 1994 and last year
Myanmar troops seized the replacement headquarters. 

Since then, the KNU has avoided fixed bases and favored guerrilla attacks. The
7th Brigade headquarters was the biggest post they held. 

Meanwhile, Thai Maj. Gen. Chamlong Photong, responsible for the Thai frontier
with Myanmar, said his forces were braced for more raids of refugee camps. 

Some 100,000 refugees from Myanmar are sheltered in Thailand in camps strung
along the border. Most are ethnic Karens. 

The camps have been targeted to frighten refugees into returning home and to
deny the rebels rear-base support. 

Marauders from the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, a Karen splinter group
allied with the Myanmar government, crossed into Thailand and torched the Huay
Koloke refugee camp last week, killing three people and leaving 9,000
homeless. Ten mortar rounds were fired Sunday into the Mae Hla camp, which
shelters 30,000 people, injuring four refugees and a Thai soldier. 

Chamlong said security had been tightened along the frontier but noted that
the hilly, forested terrain made sealing it off impossible. Thai armored
personnel carriers and some 400 troops have been moved into the Mae Hla area
since Sunday's shelling. 

Fearful of attack, refugees have been digging bunkers and sleeping outside the
camp perimeters. 

AP-NY-03-17-98 0640EST

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