Karen Rebels Clash with Burmese/Mya

[Rangoonp@xxxxxxx]

Subject: Karen Rebels Clash with Burmese/Myanmar Troops near Gas Pipeline

Karen Rebels Clash with Burmese/Myanmar Troops near Gas Pipeline

            AP
            06-JAN-99

            BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) -- Ethnic Karen rebels are
            skirmishing with Myanmar government troops near a $1.2
            billion gas pipeline, Thai military officials said
Wednesday. 

            Fighting has been erupting on and off for several days
inside
            Myanmar opposite the western Thai cities of Kanchanaburi
            and Sangkhlaburi, said a high-ranking officer with
Thailand's
            Surasee Task Force, who spoke only on condition of
            anonymity. 

            The Thai military monitors troop movements and clashes
            inside Myanmar because combatants and refugees
            frequently spill over the border. 

            The Myanmar military is in the early stages of a dry season
            offensive against a slew of ethnic insurgent guerrilla
armies
            based near the Thai border. 

            The area near the most recent fighting is home to a
            controversial gas pipeline owned jointly by Myanmar's
            military government, Total of France, Unocal of the United
            States and the Petroleum Authority of Thailand. 

            However, the pipeline corridor has been heavily guarded by
            Myanmar troops ever since Karen rebels attacked it with
            rockets, killing four workers, in February 1996. 

            Myanmar's rebellious ethnic minorities, democracy activists
            and international human rights groups have criticized the
oil
            companies for building the pipeline. 

            They say that profits from the pipeline will provide the
            cash-strapped military government with much needed
            revenue to beef up its armed forces. 

            They also say villagers have been forcibly relocated to make
            way for the pipeline, and that forced labor has been used by
            the military to construct infrastructure necessary for the
            project. 

            Both the military and the companies deny the charges. 

            The Karen have been fighting for autonomy from
            governments in Yangon for 50 years.