NEWS - Myanmar Troops Raid Hilltrib

[Rangoonp@xxxxxxx]

Subject: NEWS - Myanmar Troops Raid Hilltribe Village, Kill One

Myanmar Troops Raid Hilltribe Village, Kill One

               Reuters
               05-MAY-99

               BANGKOK, May 6 (Reuters) - About 30 Myanmar
               soldiers raided a hilltribe village close to the Thai
               border on Wednesday night and killed one villager,
               a Thai security source said. 

               The source in Thailand's Mae Sai district opposite
               Myanmar said 42 ethnic Akha villagers escaped into
               Thailand after the raid on Sampli village close to the
               Myanmar town of Tachilek. 

               They told police the raid might have been the result
               of a dispute over narcotics since villages in the
               area are known drug transit points. 

               They said Myanmar troops rounded up about 200
               villagers during the raid and shot one when he
               attempted to run away. 

               The village is in the heart of the "Golden Triangle,"
               the world's leading source of opium and its
               derivative heroin. The triangle is formed by the
               juncture of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand.