Internal displacement/forced migration of Karenni villagers

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Description: "Myanmar regime forces are continuing to clash with a combined force of Karenni Army (KA) and Karenni Nationalities Defense Force (KNDF) fighters in southern Shan State, with over 5,000 local residents displaced by the fighting. Clashes broke out again on March 9 near Saung Pyaung Village in Shan’s Pinlaung Township, where junta troops and Karenni resistance fighters clashed for the first time in the township on February 24. The KA and KNDF launched an attack on a junta outpost in Saung Pyaung on February 24, where military regime soldiers and pro-junta Pa-O National Army (PNA) fighters are based. Pinlaung Township is part of the Pa-O Self-Administered Zone governed by the Pa-O National Organization (PNO), the political wing of the PNA. More than 5,000 residents from Saung Pyaung and nearby villages have been displaced by the fighting, according to locals and aid groups. “Clashes broke out again at around 6am near Saung Pyaung, which is located on the border of Pinlaung and Pekon townships. The Karenni groups have captured some villages and so the Myanmar military is now shelling them,” said the administrator of a village near Saung Pyaung, who is currently sheltering at a monastery in Pinlaung Town along with hundreds of other refugees. Thousands more people from Saung Pyaung, Lone Pyin, Taung Mae Thin, Myauk Sa Lone, Taung Sa Lone, Nam Name and Pin Lon villages are also sheltering in Pinlaung Town, as well as in Pekon Township. Almost two weeks after being forced to flee, the refugees are in urgent need of supplies. “We still need food and medicine,” said one displaced female resident of Taung Sa Lone Village whose sister was killed by a regime mortar strike on February 24. Her family has fled to Pekon Township, where they are receiving help from the Moebye Rescue Team. The team said that some of the refugees from Pinlaung are injured or sick and in need of proper medical treatment and care. At least three civilians have been killed by regime artillery strikes since the clashes broke out, and another four people injured. Despite the ongoing fighting, junta chief Min Aung Hlaing visited his ally the PNO leader U Aung Kham Hti on March 7 at his home in Kyauk Ta Lone Gyi Town in the Pa-O Self-Administered Zone, according to regime-controlled media. It is not known what the two men discussed. However, local observers said that they believed that the regime boss would have been pushing U Aung Kham Hti to help defend the Pa-O Self-Administered Zone. The area is strategically important, as resistance groups from Kayah and Karen states could break through it to reach the Myanmar capital Naypyitaw. On the day of Min Aung Hlaing’s visit, the PNA released a statement calling on young ethnic Pa-O people to join the PNA to fight the “invaders”. PNA fighters are currently taxing some villages in their area, with residents saying that each household in the affected villages is having to pay 75,000 kyats each. The Irrawaddy was unable to contact the PNA for comment..."
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Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
2023-03-09
Date of entry/update: 2023-03-09
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Description: "Intro: In three short months, the situation on the ground in Karenni state continues to deteriorate at an alarming rate. The Burmese military is intensifying its attack under the pretense of eliminating any and all opposition, such as the local ethnic armed organizations (EAO) and the Karenni Defense Force, or associates with ties to the exiled civilian government, the National Unity Government. However, unarmed civilians have become one of the top targets of the Burmese military. About 200,000 civilians are displaced, which is more than 1/3 of the state’s estimated 300,000 population. About 200 Karenni have been killed by the Burmese military since the start of the coup. As junta forces continue to attack villages and cities, their campaign has expanded to include internally displaced person (IDP) camps. Assaults on IDP camps force constant movement of IDPs in the state, as well as a significant number of displaced to flee to neighboring states and regions. Due to the junta’s blocking of humanitarian aid, IDPs in Karenni state are forced to face starvation and, ultimately, death as access to food, clean water, medicines, and other necessary supplies continue to dwindle. This is not a problem that will solve itself with the current noninterference policy most countries are adopting. The Burmese junta is systematically killing the Karenni people in order to maintain control of an already precarious situation. For this quarterly briefer report, the Karenni Human Rights Group (KnHRG) painstakingly collected the raw data found in Tables 1.1 through 3.4 to present accurate information that is typically distorted by the Burmese junta in order to hide their criminal activity. Human Rights Violations In order to take and maintain control of the country, the Burmese military is intensifying their attacks on civilians, including the Karenni people. It has become clear that the Burmese junta aims to remove opposition in Karenni state by any means necessary with complete and utter disregard to the safety and security of the Karenni. Over the last three months, 52 Karenni were killed. As indicated in the data, many Karenni were killed due to mortar shells and airstrikes, but the majority were arbitrarily arrested and detained before they were ultimately killed by the Burmese military. Arrested, Detained, & Missing: There are a total of 42 Karenni that are documented as arrested, detained, and/or missing after detention. In January alone, there were 21 Karenni detained and/or missing. According to reports, there were eight Karenni taken from Loikaw and three taken from Six Mile village. Junta forces also targeted traveling Karenni. As civilians flee from their homes, there is a noticeable migration of Karenni IDPs to southern Shan state. At least eight Karenni civilians were reported to be taken as they traveled from Loikaw and/or missing. At least 10 were taken from Warree Su Palain Village. Again, the junta forces targeted traveling Karenni. Four were taken while traveling to Hoe Pon village, southern Shan state and two were reportedly taken after returning home to Zee Phye Gone after staying in an IDP camp (Table 2.1). During the month of March, the number of detained and/or missing decreased tremendously with only five Karenni reportedly taken by junta forces (Table 3.1). Arrested, Tortured, & Killed: While the previous section discussed the number of Karenni that were arrested, detained, and/or missing, this section will look at confirmed number of Karenni that were arrested, tortured, and killed by junta forces. Almost half of the 52 Karenni killed during the 3- month period were first arbitrarily arrested and detained by Burmese troops. Upon discovery of the bodies, evidence of torture was clearly visible. The junta denied use of any kind of torture during the victims’ detention. At least 1/3 of the 30 total number of deaths in January were arrested, tortured, and killed (Table 1.2). In February, four Karenni were reported to be arrested and detained by junta forces in Six Mile village, Deemaw Soe township and Warree Su Palain village in Phe Khone township (Table 2.2). These four Karenni were subsequently killed. In March, nine Karenni were arrested and detained in Six Mile village and Sin Taung village in Deemaw Soe Township and Nan Pae village in Bawlake township. Just like the four cases in February, the nine Karenni were killed by junta forces during their detainment (Table 3.2). Mortar Shells and Airstrikes: Since the beginning of the year, junta forces have been firing hundreds of shells every day. Shelling has reached at least 5km outside of conflict zones forcing thousands to flee from their homes in neighboring areas. Over a three-month period, about 1/4 of those who died were killed by mortar shells. At least eight were killed by mortar shells launched during armed conflict in Loikaw during January (Table 1.2). Another 10 were reportedly injured. In March, three children, one woman, and one elderly woman were killed by mortar shells in Lah Htun village in Loikaw Township and Daw Taw Kue village in Deemaw Soe Township. The usage of mortar shells also prevents local civilians from accessing emergency healthcare. Four elderly women died of heart attacks when shelling was launched near their homes (Table 3.2). As junta forces continue their assault on the Karenni people, the military is also including airstrikes in its arsenal. The junta suffered huge losses with its ground troops due to the armed conflict with local anti-junta opposition. To offset these losses, the junta is supplementing their attacks with airstrikes to effectively eliminate the PDF and local EAOs; however, the Karenni people are also suffering from the onslaught of airstrikes. From January to March, more than 1/8 of Karenni killed were killed by airstrikes. In January, five Karenni were killed, including two young females (Table 1.2). In February, Karenni civilians were targeted by airstrikes three times. From these airstrikes, two Karenni were killed in Sele Done village in Deemaw Soe Township (Table 2.2). The number of airstrikes increased in March to five reported airstrikes targeting civilian areas. Fortunately, there were no recorded deaths linked to these attacks. Outliers (Shot/Killed, Killed/Burned, Unidentifiable): While the majority of Karenni were killed while detained or from mortar shells and airstrikes launched by junta forces, there were Karenni killed that fell outside the common documentation. In January, three bodies of Karenni were discovered; however, the cause of death is unidentifiable (Table 1.2). Even though the cause of death cannot be confirmed, it is believed that the Burmese military is responsible for the deaths of the three Karenni. In February, there were two confirmed kills by the junta forces in Daw Mukla village in Loikaw township. Using a favorite tactic in efforts to remove evidence, the Burmese troops then burned the bodies of the two Karenni (Table 2.2). The last unique death was the killing of a young female in Mine Long Ward in Loikaw City. She was shot and killed by Burmese troops in March (Table 3.2). Destruction of Property Since the beginning of the year, the Burmese military has been systematically destroying entire villages and homes in order to drive the Karenni people out. In three months, KnHRG documented a total of 348 structures that were burned or sustained damage, of which more than half were burned to the ground. In January, a total of 85 structures were burned or sustained damage in Karenni state. More than half of the documented structures in January were burned to the ground. Two religious buildings were included in the total number for January. Both religious buildings were shelled by the Burmese military, but only one was documented as burned to the ground (Table 1.4). In February, there were a total of 80 structures that were reported as burned or sustained damage. A significant amount, an estimated 75%, of structures were intentionally burned to the ground by junta forces in Warree Su Palain village, Wee Thel Ku village, and Six Mile village in Deemaw Soe Township. Two religious buildings were reportedly damaged by shells launched by the Burmese troops (Table 2.4). There was a significant increase of structures that were burned or damaged by junta forces in March. A total of 183 structures were documented by KnHRG as burned or sustained damage. While almost half of the total structures were intentionally burned down by Burmese troops, they targeted several locations: Ce Lie Done village, Pue Par village, Tay Hsoe Leh village, Twe Due Bilar village, Hsaung Dular Ywe Tit village, Sin Taung village, and Five Mile village in Deemaw Soe Township as well as Nan Pae village in Bawlake Township. Four religious buildings were damaged by mortar shells and airstrikes, as well as one health clinic damaged by mortar shells launched by the Burmese military (Table 3.4)..."
Source/publisher: Karenni Human Rights Group
2022-04-00
Date of entry/update: 2022-04-22
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Sub-title: စားနပ်ရိက္ခာဆိုင်ရာစီမံမှု အထူးပန်ကြားလွှာ။
Description: "A total of at least 170,000 people have been displaced by the military engagements between 22 May 2022 and 20 February 2022 in Karenni State, and they are taking refuge within the state or in other states and regions. Most of the displaced people have had to flee immediately from their villages, and they could only bring a small amount of food and household utensils. Most of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) are living in makeshift camps with limited access to food, medicine and drinking water. It is very much appreciated that people are helping each other for such an extended period of time. Yet currently, the humanitarian coverage is less than before and the assistance is "decreasing" in the early stages of 2022. Therefore, we the Karenni State Consultative Council (KSCC) would like to urge and request the people to pay special attention and adhere to the following recommendations for food security. i) Make a list of different kinds of food and systematically collect and store rice, corn and different kinds of beans. ii) Collect and pack rice, cooking oil and salt, as well as basic medicine, for family members for three days. iii) Share food and help each other to overcome the initial food shortage. iv) If you are facing a shortage of food, please immediately inform to relevant village committee and IDP camp committees. v) Prioritize the elderly, sick, children under 16, pregnant women and breast-feeding women. vi) Stop breeding animals and making snack productions which use a lot of rice or paddy..."
Source/publisher: Karenni State Consultative Council
2022-03-01
Date of entry/update: 2022-03-01
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Description: "Background: An airstrike struck a displacement camp sheltering hundreds of people in Myanmar’s Kayah State yesterday reportedly killing at least three people, including two children. Fighting has intensified in southeastern Kayah and Kayin states since December. Some 162,000 people, including women and children, remain displaced in the two states after fleeing their homes since May 2021. More than 650 houses, monasteries, churches and schools have reportedly been burnt or destroyed in Kayah State alone. “We are deeply worried about the new wave of violence and fighting targeting civilians in southeast Myanmar. We condemn yesterday’s airstrike which affected hundreds of people. These were communities that had already been forced to flee their homes because of violence, and sheltered at the displacement site in search of protection and safety. This indiscriminate targeting and killing of civilians must end. “The fighting is causing death, more displacement and disrupting access to critical services and humanitarian aid. The de facto authorities are responsible under International Humanitarian Law to protect civilians, and we call on them to do their duty.”..."
Source/publisher: Norwegian Refugee Council
2022-01-18
Date of entry/update: 2022-01-18
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Sub-title: Without access to electricity or water and with military attacking Loikaw from the ground and air, half of the township’s population flees
Description: "The military carried out an airstrike on Loikaw, Karenni (Kayah) State on Tuesday, dropping seven bombs from two fighter jets on the capital’s Maing Lone ward in just over 15 minutes before 6pm, locals said. All of the explosives detonated. Located 120 miles from the junta capital of Naypyitaw, Loikaw Township has been the site of intensifying fighting between resistance forces and the Myanmar army since January 7. On January 6, the military council cut off access to electricity in several wards, including Maing Lone; the entire township has been without power since January 9. Without electricity, the water supply and wifi services had also stopped, locals said. “The primary problem that we have right now is the scarcity of the water supply. We no longer get water from the city development committee and the water purification factories have stopped operating, so we don’t have much drinking water left either,” a local man told Myanmar Now on the condition of anonymity. He added that the only way to access the internet in Loikaw was through mobile data from military-operated telecommunications providers MPT and Mytel. “The downtown area still has telephone and mobile internet services but there have been several glitches,” he explained. Locals from Maing Lone, Pan Kan and Ywar Tan Shey wards started fleeing on January 8 as the military shelled the township from the ground and air amid the utilities shutdown. Karenni media reports estimated on Tuesday that around 30,000 people—half of Loikaw’s population—had fled their homes. At the time of reporting, locals told Myanmar Now that the number who had left may have been as high as 90 percent of the town’s residents. “Most of the people who remain in the township are those who stayed behind to protect their homes against thieves, those who are stranded in monasteries, those who could not afford to travel, and those who couldn’t find transportation,” the local man said. Several empty homes Maing Lone ward had been broken into and looted, with thieves reportedly seen carrying stolen items away on 12-wheeled trucks. “They even stole entire cars, motorcycles and electricity generators and refrigerators. We didn’t dare to go take pictures of them, so we have no photos,” an eyewitness told Myanmar Now. The anti-junta People’s Defence Force chapter in Loikaw issued a statement on Tuesday warning that serious action would be taken against the thieves. An officer from the second battalion of the Karenni Nationalities Defence Force (KNDF) said that the most recent clashes have been concentrated in Maing Lone and Daw Au Khu wards. Battles have also continued to break out in the nearby townships of Demoso and Shadaw this week, with the military deploying both jets and heavy artillery.According to a KNDF report, around 40 junta soldiers, three members of the allied resistance forces, and six civilians had been killed in the battles in Loikaw and Demoso on January 7 and 10. The number of people killed on Tuesday could not be confirmed at the time of reporting. Those who remain in Loikaw are concerned that in the coming days, basic necessities like rice and oil will no longer be available. “We can see that the flow of commodities has been cut off and that the basic commodities have become very scarce,” the first local said. It could not be confirmed whether junta restrictions had officially been implemented on the importing of goods into the township, but few trucks dare to deliver supplies amid the ongoing fighting. “The shop owners closed all of their shops and fled. There are only two to three shops that remain open now. Even so, I think they, too, are going to flee after they’re all sold out. Because all the shops are closed, commodity trucks don’t come into the town anymore,” another local woman said. She added that displaced persons in neighbouring townships also rely on these shops to meet their basic needs, and the shortages would be felt by communities fleeing the fighting throughout the region..."
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
2022-01-12
Date of entry/update: 2022-01-12
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Description: " People arrested: In Karenni State the total number of people arrested since the coup has increased from 135 to 150 during the past two weeks. Three villagers were arrested on August 6, from Kayan Thayar village in Loikaw Township. Their names were Khun Nyein Chan, Khun Bey and Khun Poe O. They were tortured while being detained on suspicion of being connected to the KNDF. They were released on August 7. On August 11, another three youth from Daw U Khu quarter in Loikaw township were arrested at their homes by SAC. It appears they were arrested on suspicion of connections with a PDF. On August 14, four male villagers from Daw Takleh and Htee Phoe Kaloe village in Demawso township, including a 15-year-old boy, were arrested while they were going back to their village from an IDP camp to get some rations for their families. They were tied up with rope and brought to the SAC camp on Daw Tadah Mountain. On August 14, SAC troops came to the home of social worker Roselynn (also known as Ma Ei) in Naung Yang, quarter of Loikaw Town and arrested her mother and brother and 3 young volunteer aid workers who were in the house. The SAC troops said that if Ma Ei gave herself up, they would free those who were arrested.  Ongoing military aggression The SAC has declared it is continuing its unilateral ceasefire from August to October, but in practice, it has increased clearance operations into the areas where the KNDF and IDPs are staying, and clearly has no intention of stopping its military offensives in Karenni State. On August 3, SAC troops under Infantry Division 66 clashed with KNPP and KNDF troops four times while moving from Tah Leh village to Marcrawshay village in Pruso township. 11 SAC soldiers were killed and over 20 were injured during the clashes. At 4 pm, the SAC shelled and fired machine guns into Nan Peh village in Bawlake township for no apparent reason, then entered the village and looted goods and money from shops. On August 4, SAC troops under Infantry Division 66 were carrying out an operation against the KNPP and KNDF, when they clashed with KNPP and KNDF troops between Kupra mountain and Bethu (upper) village in western Demawso township. 3 SAC soldiers were killed and some injured. On August 4, at 8:45 am, SAC troops entered Naung Yang quarter of Loikaw town and shot at some houses without giving any reason. Some houses were damaged, and a young woman was wounded in her knee by an explosive shell. On August 6, at 10 pm, two youths riding a motorbike in Loikaw town were shot from behind by SAC troops. One was hit in the back and one was wounded in one arm. On August 8, 300 SAC troops clashed with KNPP and KNDF troops between upper Bethu village in Pekhon township and Domoko village in Pruso township. 10 SAC soldiers were killed during the clash. On August 9, in the evening, fighting took place between SAC and KNPP/KNDF troops near Beya village in western Pruso township. On the same day, while carrying out military operations, SAC troops from Pinlaung township in Shan State clashed with KNDF troops near Lawei village and Kaung Ei village in Pekhon township, Shan State On August 10, over 120 CDM staff from Loikaw Teik Chauk Lone building (government housing) were evicted by SAC. On August 12, SAC troops clashed with KNPP/KNDF troops near Htee Klu Daw village in Pruso township. Five SAC soldiers were killed and three were injured. During this clash, KNDF reported that they seized some small guns and one mortar from the SAC. After this, on the same day, SAC troops started deploying more soldiers in and around Pruso town. A clash took place near Kadah Lah village, close to Pruso town, between SAC and KNPP/KNDF troops. LIB 102 and LIB 531 based in Demawso township launched artillery shells to support their troops in Pruso township, injuring a woman from Htee Por Hso village in Pruso township in her thigh, and a male villager in his arm from Nyow Khone village, Demawso Township. On August 14, at 7 am, SAC troops together with PNO troops from Pinlaung township entered Pekhon township, and clashed with combined troops from Pekhon PDF, Moebye PDF, KNDF and KNPP near Pin Pon village and Lahwei village. The fighting lasted about 11 hours. Two of the PDF were injured, and five SAC soldiers and six PNO soldiers were killed. On August 15, 100 SAC troop reinforcements in 35 military trucks were heading from Loikaw to Pekhon, when they were ambushed by KNPP and KNDF troops at Kaung Maing village near Moebye town.  Situation of IDPs and humanitarian aid The number of IDPs continues to increase due to the ongoing fighting. Following the fierce SAC offensive around Pruso town on August 12, a further 674 villagers from nearby villages fled to the jungle as IDPs. The growing number of IDPs is causing increased humanitarian needs. Apart from the need for food and shelter, medical aid is urgently required due to the growing spread of Covid 19 in IDP camps. In Hsin IDP camp, in eastern Loikaw township, 47 Covid positive cases have been found during the past two weeks..."
Source/publisher: Karenni Civil Society Network
2021-08-17
Date of entry/update: 2021-08-18
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Sub-title: Students are attending classes while local schools remain closed due to armed conflict and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Description: "Teachers who joined Myanmar’s civil disobedience movement following the military coup in February have set up a school for children displaced by conflict in a temporary camp in a rebel army-controlled area of eastern Kayah state near the Thai border. The internally displaced persons (IDP) camp where the school is located hosts more than 1,000 civilians, mostly ethnic Karennis, who fled their homes to escape fighting between the Myanmar military and Karenni Nationalities Defense Force (KNDF) troops since May. The KNDF is a new network of civilian resistance fighters that includes existing ethnic armed groups in the state and Karenni organizations. Violent clashes between rebel and junta forces erupted in Kayah state’s Loikaw, Demoso, and Shadaw townships after the military coup on Feb. 1 overthrew the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. Some 100,000 residents have fled their homes amid fighting in the state, taking shelter in Buddhist monasteries or in nearby hills and jungles. The Education Department of the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP), the dominant ethnic political organization in the state, opened the school to provide uninterrupted instruction to the children, said Hsu Bu Rel, the department’s vice minister. Children displaced by the conflict have not been able to attend classes for a year because of the coronavirus pandemic, which hit Myanmar in March 2020 and now is in its third wave. They then lost a second year of education because of political unrest in the country, Hsu Bu Rel said. “We want the IDP children in our camp to have an opportunity for schooling,” he told RFA. “In addition, this school gives us opportunities to learn from the CDM [civil disobedience movement] teachers and to try out the new curriculum and teaching methods of the Karenni Education Department. For security reasons, RFA is identifying the location of the camp school only as being in a KNPP-controlled area near the Thai border in Kayah state. School principal Hla Moe Myint said more funding is needed for educational materials for the IDP children, school buildings, and additional teachers. “Teachers can perform fully only if they have these materials in hand,” she said. “There are so many needs. Besides, we want to set up a library as they [the teachers] have expected. We have difficulties in fulfilling their needs.” Teacher Hsu Khu Rel said the school serves students from grades one through 11 and uses both a national curriculum and a new one created by the Karenni Education Department. Another teacher named Josephine said many educators from government schools, who walked out of work to join the CDM protests against the junta and fled arrest in their hometowns have joined the school. “They have different teaching methods and a different schooling system,” she said, pointing to the teachers’ more sophisticated grading system that makes it tougher for students to pass tests because it is not based on traditional rote learning. About 265 students had enrolled in the IDP camp school by the end of June, though additional ones were incoming, teachers said. Eighth-grader Cherry Phaw said she was pleased to continue her education at the school. “For more than two years I couldn’t go to school,” she told RFA. “We were on the run whenever there was fighting, so I couldn’t go to school. I am grateful to the teachers for enabling me to learn in school. I am happy here.” Thoe Mel, the parent of students who attend classes at the school, said she is glad that she could enroll her children in school at a time when other schools across the country are closed because of ongoing crackdowns by the military regime and the COVID-19 pandemic. “My children haven’t gone to school for two years,” she said. “I am so happy now they are going to school. I am very optimistic.”..."
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Source/publisher: "RFA" (USA)
2021-08-17
Date of entry/update: 2021-08-18
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Sub-title: More than a third of the population of Kayah State has been displaced by clashes
Description: "The Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) has called on local and international aid groups to provide urgent help to tens of thousands of people affected by both fighting and surging Covid-19 cases in Kayah (Karenni) State. Junta troops have been raiding villages to break into homes and loot property, while also hampering local efforts to stop the spread of the virus in the state, the group said in a statement on Friday. The KNPP’s armed wing, the Karenni Army, have clashed with the junta’s forces numerous times in Bawlakhe Township and elsewhere since early May. They have fought alongside the newly formed Karenni Nationalities Defence Force (KNDF) on some occasions. Some 100,000 people – more than a third of the population of the state – have fled their homes because of the violence. The Karenni people are facing hardship in every aspect of life, the KNPP’s statement said, adding that people were in need of food, shelter, and healthcare. Many of those displaced are living in forests without adequate shelter from this year’s monsoon rains. “We have been helping the refugees by providing some food, shelter and medication,” said Khu Daniel, a secretary of the KNPP. “We can’t provide them with complete protection as of now, so we need donations for shelters, since it’s the rainy season, as well as food and medication.” Locals in Hpruso and Demoso townships are also fleeing their homes as fighting intensifies in the area. A resident of the state capital Loikaw, which is about 20km from the town of Demoso, said that around 1,000 locals from the east of Demoso fled their homes on Friday evening. She could hear gunshots almost every night and has been preparing to flee as well in the event that the fighting comes closer to her, she added. “Everything’s hard now considering both the pandemic and the war are here,” she said. “We are just staying in our houses.” She added: “We have to be prepared to flee as we don’t know when the war will arrive. We’ve got some beds and food ready so we can flee anytime.” Residents of Loikaw recently set up Covid-19 checkpoints in each neighbourhood but were ordered to stop by the junta last week, she added. Between June 29 and August 12 there were 729 Covid-19 cases reported in Loikaw, six in Hpruso, 39 in Bawlakhe and 251 in Hpasawng, making up to a total of 1,025 cases including 47 deaths, according to a report in The Kantarawaddy Times. Dozens of Myanmar military soldiers have been killed in fighting in Kayah in recent months, according to the KNDF, including 80 who died in a battle in early June. This month 18 junta soldiers have been killed and 20 injured so far, the group said. It has not released full details about casualties among resistance fighters..."
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
2021-08-16
Date of entry/update: 2021-08-16
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Killing: The number of documented killings by SAC security forces has increased from 76 to 82 during the past two weeks, although the actual total death toll is higher as this does not count the number of decomposed bodies of unidentified civilians that have been found. The six recently killed were civilians who were accused of being informers.....Ongoing military aggression: On July 12, KNPP plus KNDF troops had four armed clashes with SAC troops from LIB 530 and Infantry Division 66, who were carrying out clearance operations and entered into a KNPP controlled area in northern Loikaw township. The four clashes were: 1) at 8 am northeast of Nan Kwe village; 2) at 12 pm near Thiree Dah Wan Kai village; 3) at 4:15 pm near Daw Tahay village; 4) at 6 pm near Daw Tahay and Payapyu villages. The SAC troops fired artillery in the vicinity of Loile Lay town and Tee Lon village tract but retreated from the area when 14 of their soldiers were killed. During their operation. the SAC troops killed local villagers’ livestock, including chickens and pigs, for food. As a result of the fighting, 20 villages with a population of around 8,000 have been displaced as IDPs. On the same day, July 12, KNPLF, KNLP and Kayaw Ni troops found several unidentifed decomposed dead bodies in a ditch next to house No. 3-27 in San Pya 6-mile village of Demawso township where the SAC troops from Infantry Division 66 had been based for two months. The SAC troops had moved out during a troop rotation on July 10. The KNPLF troops helped to burn the dead bodies. On July 16, at 2:45 pm, joint KNPP and KNDF troops had a 30-minute clash with about 50 SAC troops from Infantry Division 66 near Nan Peh village of Bawlake township, where the KNPP and KNDF have been operating. The number of SAC casualties is not known, but the SAC then brought in about 200 more troop reinforcements to continue their clearance operation. On July 18, SAC troops from Bawlake town launched artillery attacks into Nan Peh village tract in Bawlake township, and ground troops entered Nan Peh village and continued to patrol into Taw Kho village tract in Pruso township. As a result, around 2,629 villagers from 7 villages in Taw Kho village tract and Nan Peh village tract have fled their homes to hide in the surrounding jungle. The SAC troops also entered Nan Peh village and broke windows and front doors of villagers’ houses Due to the ongoing offensives carried out by SAC, the KNDF has announced that they will cooperate with local ethnic armed organizations and fight against the SAC, meaning that the temporary cease-fire agreement has failed and there will be more fighting.....Covid situation in Karenni State: As in other areas of Burma, the third wave of the Covid 19 pandemic has also spread to Karenni State. From June 15 to July 17, there were 157 Covid cases, 3 of whom died. Most of the cases were Loikaw town residents. The fast spread of the disease has caused increased worry among the IDPs, who are already facing health problems and insufficient health care. Local communities have set up their own Covid 19 screening points at village entrances, but there is a shortage of experienced health personnel and equipment. The SAC’s mismanagement of the country and collapse of the health care system are fuelling fears that the pandemic will become much worse.....Situation of IDPs and humanitarian aid: Due to the rainy season, it is difficult for the IDPs to shelter from the rain. Some IDPs have plastic tarpaulins, but due to wear and tear, they need to use two tarpaulins instead of one to protect themselves from the rain. However, during heavy rain, even double tarpaulins are insufficient to keep dry. Some IDPs have nothing, no tarpaulins or even thin plastic sheets. Moreover, due to lack of clean water for drinking and cooking, and lack of nutritious food, the IDP children and pregnant women have been suffering from diarrhea and skin diseases, such as scabies. The lack of hygienic toilets is also causing diarrhea. As it is the rainy season, flu and malaria are becoming more prevalent too. There is an acute shortage of medicines to treat these diseases. In some sites, they only have paracetamol. Local civil society groups and church based groups under the Karenni IDPs Support Network (KISN)and Karenni Humanitarian Team (KHT) have been helping the IDPs to receive rice, cooking oil, salt, beans, noodles and other dried food. Mosquito nets, tarpaulins and school materials have also been distributed. However, the aid received has been inadequate to meet all the IDP needs. It is unclear whether international agencies such as Save the Children, UNHCR, Mercy Corps, NRC, ACF, MAG and IRC, who used to have a presence in Karenni State, are still operating there. They have not been seen giving assistance to the local Karenni people..."
Source/publisher: Karenni Civil Society Network
2021-07-22
Date of entry/update: 2021-07-23
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Sub-title: Only 10 bags of rice are allowed into the town each month by the junta, and medicine remains a ‘banned item,’ locals say
Description: "A temporary ceasefire between local resistance forces and the military in Mindat, Chin State, has been extended until July 14, but locals say the junta continues to impose restrictions on the transportation of basic necessities into the area, contributing to food shortages and insufficient healthcare access. The Chinland Defence Force (CDF) in Mindat and the military coup council had agreed to a temporary ceasefire from June 23 until July 4 in the town and then extended it 10 more days. Rice is being transported to Mindat from Pakokku, in Magwe Region, but the junta is only allowing 10 bags of rice—each weighing around 45kg—to be brought in per day, according to the Mindat People's Administration. “This rice is not enough, even for the town. Most of the people have bought millet and corn to eat,” a Mindat resident said. Each household is additionally restricted by the military authorities from buying more than one bag of rice per month, a town elder and member of the bilateral negotiating team told Myanmar Now. He speculated that the aim of the junta’s restrictions on rice may be an attempt to cut off the food supply route for the CDF in Mindat. An official from the management committee for Mindat’s internally displaced persons’ (IDPs) camps said that the town was running out of medicine and basic healthcare necessities because the junta had declared medicine a “banned item.” “Medicines are not allowed to be transported to Mindat. The junta’s forces arrest anyone who brings medicine, so no one dares to carry it. There are still a lot of sick people in the mountainous areas,” the committee official explained. Myanmar Now tried to contact the junta’s information officers to inquire about the restrictions, but the calls were unanswered. Fighting between local forces and the military began in Mindat in April. Since May 12, clashes have intensified, and more than 20,000 people have fled the area. A two-week ceasefire agreement was reached in June after the town elders and religious leaders held talks with the military for one week. The temporary ceasefire agreement bans both sides from firing their weapons, harassing or threatening civil servants—particularly those involved in the anti-coup Civil Disobedience Movement—and states that vehicles transporting food may be inspected but must be allowed into Mindat. During the 10-day temporary ceasefire extension, representatives from both forces have reportedly agreed to communicate by phone, and to contact the negotiating committee if necessary. Some IDPs have returned to their homes during this period, but others are reluctant to go back to the town, citing a lack of security and ongoing difficulties procuring basic needs, such as access to healthcare. “The military council’s side runs an outpatient clinic, from 8 am to 10 am. But some people think the medical care in the town is now inadequate, so they do not come here,” the Mindat town elder and negotiating team member said. The junta’s health ministry announced on July 2 that there was one new case of Covid-19 in Mindat town. “If the town is locked down because of the Covid-19 pandemic, people will face more difficulties getting food. Commodity prices will be higher. The situation in Mindat will not be easy at all,” the elder said, adding that he feared his community would “disappear” due to these struggles. During a one-month period between May and late June, a total of seven people, including pregnant women, infants and the elderly, died while fleeing the ongoing instability in Mindat, according to the Mindat IDP camps’ management committee..."
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
2021-07-10
Date of entry/update: 2021-07-11
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Description: "Preface The purpose of publishing this information sheet is to increase the awareness of people over the Crimes Against Humanity committed by the military junta terrorists on a daily basis and to keep record of their brutal acts for future reference and proceedings. Committed crimes are selectively stated in this information sheet due to space limitations. Arbitrary Detentions and Enforced Disappearance As the terrorists junta in Myanmar continue to arrest and shoot at unarmed civilians baselessly and unlawfully, one university student named Maung Chit Thae was shot dead on the scene while passing through the front of Yenangyaung Government Technical Institute (GTI) on 10th of June, 2021, and another man was shot twice at his chest and eventually died on the spot when help pushing a pick-up truck. On the next day, a man was shot dead while bringing food back to his village from a displaced camp in Demoso Towndship in Kayah State. Besides, a photographer and a filmmaker were arrested at home and while leaving their houses respectively. On 11th June, an Obstetrician-Gynecologist from Myingyan Hospital was also arrested. But most of all, the military junta has also been arresting lawyers in Karen State, especially if they found out lawyers tried to represent political detainees. In an instant case, two lawyers representing the Karen State Chief Minister Nan Khin Htwe Myint were filled for a lawsuit under Section 505(a) of the Penal Code. Adding their atrocities, terrorists junta have also been arresting people charged under Section 505(a) of the Penal Code, including monks and disabled person. Systemic and targeted attacks on the civilians On evening of 14th June, 2021, a man named Aung San from the Boke Village in Depayin Township was shot dead in the chest, and the village also suffered from the open fires of the terrorist junta. Their actions mainly came after the incident when the two daughters of a coup council-appointed village Administrator in Kyi Village, Depayin Township were stabbed to death. The heaviest destruction took place on 15th June in Kingma Village, Magway Region. As the village was almost completely burnt down by the forces of the terrorist junta, many villagers, including elderly, ninety children under the age of 5 and 27 breastfeeding babies, people suffering from pre-existing severe health conditions, either had to flee or hide in the forests. They are all now in desperate need for medical supplies and other household supplies as basic household goods were destroyed along with the fire set by the junta forces. It is clear from both incidents in Depayin and Kingma that the actions of the terrorists consists a sense of retaliation for their losses and casualties during the clashes with the people. They have never been help maintaining peace in the country since the beginning, but instead, creating more instabilities and damages to its own people. The widespread and systematic murdering of the civilian population in Myanmar by the military shows no signs of stopping. In fact, it is evident that attacks against peaceful protesters across Myanmar have progressively intensified. State sponsored crimes A full-blown conflict was developed in Kanbalu Township, Sagaing Region when USDP, armed members of the military junta, openly carried guns, sticks and knives kinds of harmful and life threatening weapons to the NLD party’s office in Yi Dway village. According to the local sources, houses of pro-NLD were destroyed under fire, and polices responsible for the region have not been taking any effective measures or searching for perpetrators. Violations on Freedom of Speech and Fundamental Human Rights Up to this date, the inhumane terrorist junta has not only been committing atrocities, but also sentencing youths and reporters to imprisonment. On 16th June, 2021, a university student from Magway University was sentenced to 3-year imprisonment with hard labour, and a freelance reporter also faced the same sentence under Section 505(a) of the Penal Code. According to the local sources, many young student activists including Wai Yan Phyo Moe, Aung Hpone Maw, Lay Pyay Soe Moe, Thuta Soe, and Hpone Htet Naung are now facing charges of incitement under Section 505(a) simply because of their participation in the anti-coup protests. In addition, they have been seriously mistreated in the prisons. Based on the sayings of their relatives, unlike political prisoners, these groups of students and reporters are mistreated as criminals, being drained mentally and physically. U Lwin Maung Maung, who would have represented the Meiktila Constituency 1 if not for the military coup which took place on February 1, 2021, was arrested on Aril 28th, 2021. He is now sentenced to three years imprisonment by the terrorist junta. During his detention, it was said that his family members were barred from visiting him in the prison located in Meiktila, and latest supplies for him were made on last May 12th, 2021. While detaining of this lawmaker found no legal basis, the terrorist junta even failed to state the charges against U Lwin Maung Maung and yet, put him into prison. When media outlets contacted the terrorist junta’s information department for detailed explanation and comment, no single response were made by the junta. The Myanmar military is violating fundamental and peremptory norms of international law on a daily basis. In carrying out these atrocities, the military’s conduct confirms that it does not and has no intention of abiding by its international law obligations. Though, United Nations and International organizations call Myanmar military for end of violence and immediate release of the political prisoners, the junta always fails to listen and respect accordingly. In this case, only a proper collaborative and immediate international intervention can save the lives of innocent civilians in Myanmar. Ref : Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) : Myanmar Now..."
Source/publisher: Permanent Mission of Myanmar to the United Nations (New York)
2021-06-18
Date of entry/update: 2021-06-26
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "On 31 May at 1700hrs, the Burma Army attacked Demoso Town in Karenni State; they shot on and off for two hours, with two different helicopters. One was a Russian attack helicopter Mi 35. One person was killed in the attacks and six were wounded. Almost every villager in Demoso and Hpru So have evacuated and are now displaced in the jungle. The Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) estimates that there are nearly 100,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) now in Karenni State since these attacks. KNPP estimates of IDPS: Eastern Loikaw – over 10,000 Western Loikaw – over 10,500 Demoso – over 65,000 Hpru Soh – over 11,000 The Burma Army has sent reinforcements into Demoso area. They have started to burn the houses of suspected sympathizers believed to be involved with the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) or People’s Defense Force (PDF). IDPs are in need of food, shelter and medicine as the rainy season has begun. We are also sad to inform you all that we lost one of our Karenni Rangers. All Lo Sein was killed by the Burma Army on 27 May as he was rescuing civilians trapped under fire by the Burma Army in Demoso Town. All Lo Sein joined FBR in 2017 when he was 19 years old and told us that he wanted to learn how to help his people more. He was the second son and had nine brothers and sisters. He conducted relief missions after his initial training and also helped organize community support efforts. He was a kind, intense, dedicated and brave man who loved others more than his own life. He was gunned down by Burma Army troops when he placed himself between the troops and the townspeople they were attacking. Read more about him in the following FBR field report..."
Source/publisher: Free Burma Rangers
2021-06-15
Date of entry/update: 2021-06-16
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Sub-title: The move was announced on Tuesday following talks with military officials and religious leaders
Description: "Karenni resistance forces announced the suspension of attacks on regime troops in northern Kayah (Karenni) and southern Shan states on Tuesday amid a growing crisis facing displaced civilians in the region. The Karenni Nationalities Defence Force (KNDF), a coalition of anti-junta forces formed on May 31, made the decision following talks with military and religious leaders late last week. The move comes as the number of civilians displaced by the nearly month-old conflict has surpassed 100,000, according to the United Nations human rights agency OHCHR. The KNDF consists of civilians from Loikaw, Demoso, and Nan Mei Khon in Kayah State and Moebye and Pekhon in southern Shan State, as well as ethnic armed forces based in the region. The KNDF did not specify how long its ceasefire would last, but said it would continue to oppose the military junta in various ways. It also urged people to be united, prepared and cautious. On June 11, representatives of three Karenni armed groups involved in the KNDP met with army personnel from the Eastern Command and Christian religious leaders in Taunggyi, Shan State, to discuss the ongoing situation. The armed groups that attended the meeting were reportedly the Kayan New Land Party, the Karenni National People's Liberation Front, and the Karenni National Peace and Development Party. “The armed groups talked to the military council about the armed conflict. Our religious groups mainly discussed allowing humanitarian channels for displaced people,” a Catholic priest from Loikaw told Myanmar Now. The church, which has taken a leading role in efforts to mitigate harm to civilians caught in the conflict, has also been a target of attacks, with at least eight churches damaged or destroyed by the military since fighting began. Religious leaders demanded that relief workers be allowed to transport food and other supplies safely and without hindrance. “The commander said he would consider measures for the displaced people. The people are in real trouble. Living in the jungle during the rainy season is very difficult. The elderly and children are especially vulnerable,” the priest said. During the meeting, no agreement was reached to guarantee the security of displaced locals, but the situation is likely to be more stable than before, he added. “I haven’t heard any gunfire for a day or two since the meeting,” he said, noting that some civilians have also returned to their homes in recent days. “But people are still very worried. There’s a ceasefire, but they don’t know how long it will last. They’re worried that troops will come and arrest them at night if they return. They are still in so much fear.” Some residents who returned to Demoso on Tuesday discovered that their homes had been destroyed during the clashes, according to local sources. The military has used heavy artillery and airstrikes against local anti-regime resistance forces since clashes began in the area in late May. In addition to killing numerous civilians in these attacks, the military has also imposed restrictions on the transport of food, fuel and other essential commodities into Kayah State since May 28, creating widespread shortages of basic necessities. On June 11, the day that a six-day-old boy died of a cold while his family was fleeing from clashes in Pekhon Township, the military set fire to an ambulance and vehicles carrying food and medical supplies for displaced people in the township. In an article published by a state-run newspaper, the regime claimed that it had merely seized supplies from “terrorists”..."
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
2021-06-16
Date of entry/update: 2021-06-16
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Description: "After the military invited civilians displaced by fighting to return to their villages in Demawso Township, many were horrified after discovering that armed forces had completely looted and destroyed their homes. “My house was hit by shells and riddled with bullet holes…They (soldiers) destroyed everything inside it. There is nothing left,” The man explained the Army destroyed his TV, refrigerator, cabinet and ruined all of his clothing. He said soldiers even took his new cooking pots, pans and plates. The military stayed in people’s homes during the conflict against the People’s Defence Force (PDF). Civilians also found live shells and ammunition around their dwellings. Burma Army artillery fire destroyed many homes during weeks of indiscriminate attacks on the villages in the township. The Army made villagers who had secretly returned to their homes in western Demawso Township work for them. “Soldiers forced some to carry their food ration and military equipment,” a villager from western Demawso Township told Kantarawaddy Times. Soldiers ordered residents on their knees before beating them, the person explained. After seizing their phones, they put them to work. A military column shot at residents keeping guard of Patan Kho village in Myalae village tract on June 11. Local groups appealed to military leaders not to fight in western Demawso Township. PDF listened but Burma Army sent soldiers to patrol the area. They looted homes and killed and ate people’s chickens and pigs. No one dared to stay in their villages with the soldiers. According to recent reports on social media, the military arrested some civilians who returned home after hiding out in the jungle camps..."
Source/publisher: Kantarawaddy Times (Deemawso Township)
2021-06-16
Date of entry/update: 2021-06-16
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Myanmar junta troops destroyed supplies of rice and medicine intended for over 3,000 internally displaced people (IDP’s) in Pekon, southern Shan State, who were forced to flee their homes after intense fighting broke out between regime forces and civilian resistance fighters last month. More than 100,000 villagers from over 150 villages and downtown areas in Pekon and Demoso, Hpruso and Loikaw townships in Kayah State have now been displaced for weeks. Locals told The Irrawaddy that on June 8 junta forces burned 80 bags of rice, three barrels of cooking oil, dried food, medicine and two vehicles being stored at Loi Ying village in Pekon Township. The vehicles were an ambulance from the Mobye (Moebyel) free funeral services association and a private car. “Junta forces and people defense forces (PDF) were involved in heavy fighting on June 7. On that day we gathered food supplies for the refugees in the village. As the PDF members withdrew, we were left with the food. But we were forced to flee when the military entered the village. They torched everything on June 8,” said one local. “Medicines to treat diarrhea were among the items burned. Currently, over 3,000 IDP’s are sharing what little rice they have. They fled from their homes due to the fighting that followed the PDF’s seizure of Mobye police station,” he added. Loi Ying village, which is home to ethnic Kayan people, is located over 15 miles from Pekon town. The whole village fled the fighting, which began in Kayah State’s Demoso Township, which borders Pekon. Villagers have sought shelter at monasteries, churches and nearby villages by displaying white flags. But their temporary shelters have been attacked by the military regime’s artillery, with junta forces accusing the PDF of taking cover in them. An artillery attack on a church in Kayan Thar Yar village on May 24 killed four civilians sheltering there, prompting residents to flee into nearby forests and hills. The IDPs are reportedly sheltering at ten different locations and are living on the support provided by local civil society groups. But many places lack adequate supplies of food, medicine and clean drinking water. Fighting halted on Thursday and Friday, but locals are still fleeing whenever they see soldiers entering their villages, according to a spokesperson for the IDPs management committee in Pekin Kaw Khu in Loikaw Township. He said they could not buy petrol, while donated food supplies are being held up by military checkpoints and the closure of the road linking Aung Pan and Taunggyi in Shan State. Junta forces have set up checkpoints along the transport routes within Kayah State, blocking local transport. All vehicles travelling between Kayah State and Pekon and from Taunggyi are also being inspected. Pekin Kaw Khu IDP camp is currently hosting more than 1,500 people and they only have food for one week. “If they continue blocking the road, all the IDP’s could face going hungry,” added the spokesperson. He urged that food, medicine and materials for shelters should be allowed past the checkpoints. Myanmar regime troops are trying to eliminate the local PDF force. For about a week, they have cut off electricity, internet and cell phone access in areas where they suspect the PDF to be operating. Junta troops have been accused of targeting civilians as well as the PDF. A total of 131 locals have been detained since March 10, according to the Progressive Karenni People Force. Seven of those were arrested while on their way to the IDP camps..."
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
2021-06-11
Date of entry/update: 2021-06-11
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Dear Dominic, The situation in Myanmar is deteriorating rapidly. In recent days, the military regime has escalated their daily cycle of atrocities perpetrated against civilians across Myanmar, with airstrikes in Kayah (Karenni) State. On Monday afternoon (May 31st), the Myanmar military regime launched airstrikes in Kayah for the first time since the 1 February coup. Two helicopters opened fire in Demoso Township, this was followed by heavy artillery shelling, marking a rapid escalation of violence in the state. 70,000 civilians have already been displaced, fleeing to camps rapidly set up by local communities. The situation for these IDPs has been dire; they are in urgent need of food, medicine and other essentials. Hiding in the jungle they are also facing seasonal monsoons that are washing away camps. We welcome the UK Government' s imposition of sanctions against regime leaders; the decision to review aid programmes in Myanmar; the condemnation of the killing o f peaceful protestors, and the unlawful detention of political and civil society leaders. However, this is not enough. Airstrikes - also used to attack and besiege the Chin state town o f Mindat last month - accompanied by the use of heavy artillery weapons, represent a serious escalation of the violence. In addition to the estimated 70,000 people who have been displaced in Kayah state, tens of thousands of others in Shan, Chin, Karen and Rakhine States have been displaced and are also in desperate need of food, medicine and humanitarian aid. However, humanitarian access is being prevented by the blocking and destruction by the military of roads and bridges to besieged areas. Regime forces have also cut off access to entrances into Kayah State from Shan State to the north, and transport to Loikaw has now also been cut off, with bridges destroyed and roads blockaded, further hindering any transport of supplies. The lack of response by the international community is increasing the danger of civil war. The constant threat of military raids, arrests, torture and killings has pushed communities to take up arms. Dr. Sasa, Spokesperson and Minister for International Cooperation for the National Unity Government said yesterday. "The people of Myanmar have been left with no other choice. They just have no other option left. It is just the beginning . The situation will become out o f control................The whole country is on the road to civil war. It is time to take urgent action, not just for the people of Myanmar but for the stability of the region. We urge the British government: • to recognise the National Unity Government (NUG), who are the democratically elected leaders of Myanmar, and who have promised to enshrine the rights of the country’s ethnic communities. Last week, a NUG representative expressed acute disappointment at Britain’s failure to recognise the NUG: "The junta is dismantling an elected government by genocidal actions and policies. Not recognising the NUG is a rejection o f the will o f the people o f Myanmar. It is a betrayal o f democracy. When will the world stop the military generals before they commit another genocide?" • to provide emergency cross-border humanitarian aid. • to increase pressure for a global arms embargo to cut off the flow of weapons to this brutal regime. • to intensify diplomatic pressure at the United Nations Security Council to establish an accountability mechanism to bring the perpetrators of atrocities to justice. • to increase pressure on the military regime to stop its reign of terror. • to impose more targeted sanctions against military enterprises and a global arms embargo. Whilst the UK has taken some positive initial steps, we urge the Government to implement the above suggestions as a matter of great urgency. It is only thereby that stability can be restored; that civil war might be prevented; and that the best opportunity in 70 years for peace, justice, freedom and democracy for all the people of Myanmar might finally be achieved..."
Source/publisher: Ministry of International Cooperation Myanmar
2021-06-03
Date of entry/update: 2021-06-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: One of the three arrested volunteers was a National League for Democracy candidate in last year’s election
Description: "Three volunteers, including a former National League for Democracy (NLD) candidate, were arrested last week while helping villagers displaced by recent clashes in Kayah (Karenni) State, according to close friends of the trio. Sai Lin Lin Oo, a 29-year-old former NLD candidate, was arrested along with Nandar Oo Khin, 19, and May Zin Htoo, 20, near Loikaw while they were returning from a trip to deliver aid to Htee Poe Ka Loe, a village in Demoso Township, on May 26. “We only found out on the morning of May 27. A policeman told us that Sai Lin Lin Oo had been held at the Demoso police station the night before. We were able to confirm this after asking around,” one of the friends told Myanmar Now. “We heard they’re pressing charges against them, but we don’t know what for,” she added. The three are in good health and are being kept at a military compound in Loikaw, she said, citing information received from sources familiar with the situation. According to the Progressive Karenni People’s Force, a local youth organization, three other civilians were also arrested the same day. However, no further details were available. Sai Lin Lin Oo contested a seat in Karenni State’s Bawlakhe constituency in last year’s election but lost to former President’s Office Minister Soe Thein, who ran as a candidate for the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party. Sai Lin Lin Oo’s father, Sai Gyi, is the chair of the NLD’s branch in Bawlakhe. He was arrested on the morning of February 1 when the military staged the coup, but was later released. Around 50,000 people have been forced to flee their homes since clashes between the military and the Karenni People’s Defence Force (KPDF), a civilian defence force formed in the wake of brutal crackdowns on anti-coup protesters, began on May 21. The KPDF claims that it has killed 106 soldiers in Kayah State’s Demoso and Loikaw townships and neighbouring Moebye Township in southern Shan State since the fighting started. About 26 civilians, including KPDF members, have also been killed in those clashes. Civilians sheltering in the jungle to escape reprisals from the military are in urgent need of assistance, according to local volunteer groups..."
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
2021-05-31
Date of entry/update: 2021-06-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Topic: civilian resistance fighters, Demoso Township, IDP camp, Internally Displaced People, junta troops, Karenni People’s Defense Forces, Kayah State, KPDF, Loikaw, Moebyel Town, Pekon Township, regime forces
Topic: civilian resistance fighters, Demoso Township, IDP camp, Internally Displaced People, junta troops, Karenni People’s Defense Forces, Kayah State, KPDF, Loikaw, Moebyel Town, Pekon Township, regime forces
Description: "Civilian resistance fighters in eastern Myanmar’s Kayah State seized and destroyed a police security checkpoint north of Loikaw, the Kayah capital, on Wednesday morning. The Karenni People’s Defense Force (KPDF) burned the captured outpost in Htee Se Khar in Loilen Lay town, 15 miles north of Loikaw and close to the border with Shan State, according to a member of the KPDF. The attack comes as military tensions rise in Kayah and security has been tightened in downtown Loikaw, with junta forces checking the cell phones of residents. Many people are staying in their houses, while workers from other areas of the country are returning to their hometowns. Fighting between regime soldiers and the KPDF broke out on May 21 and over forty junta troops, including police, have since been killed. The KPDF has attacked and destroyed police stations in Kayah State’s Demoso Township and Shan State’s Pekon Township and Moebyel Town. Regime forces have fired artillery into community quarters and villages following the shootouts with the KPDF. Clashes continued in Demoso Township at dawn on Wednesday. A KPDF member said a woman was killed by junta forces gunfire, while another man was seriously injured. Five KPDF members were confirmed killed after heavy fighting near the Ngwe Taung Dam in Demoso Township on Tuesday. “During the May 25 fighting, we lost five of our men. We also heard there were many casualties from the junta side. However, we can only confirm seeing five dead regime soldiers,” said the KPDF member on Wednesday. Displaced People Some 70,000 residents from around 150 villages in Demoso, Loikaw and Shan State’s Pekon Township have been displaced in the five days of fighting since Friday, according to relief workers. In Pekon and Moebyel Town, over 20,000 people have been displaced, while more than 50,000 are displaced in Kayah State, including 10,000 in Demoso and 6,000 in Nam Mae Khon, according to Pekon, Loikaw and Demoso residents. One relief worker said the villagers have fled into the hills, while town residents are sheltering at monasteries, churches and in elders homes. “We need shelters in the rural areas with the rainy season beginning. The elders and children also need medicine,” he said. Another relief worker in Pekon said the town residents and people from nearby villages have fled their homes. The displaced villagers are taking temporary shelter at five different places, as well as scattering across Pekon and Moebyel to stay with relatives. He added that they are in need of emergency help, as the basic food items the villagers brought with them will run out after a week if the fighting continues. A spokesman of the management committee for the internally displaced people (IDP) in Pikin Kaw Khu, a village near the Kayah-Shan border, said that there are about 1,500 people who fled from Pekin Kaw Khu and Hawyi Kaw Khu villages. They have brought some food with them, but if they are going to be displaced for a long time, people will need rice, medicine and shelter from the elements. “We opened an IDP camp in Pekin Kaw Khu. But after artillery fire landed in the camp, we now have to go to another place,” he said. One villager from Kone Thar village said that more than 2,000 people have fled alongside him. “We have rice, but not enough for a long time. We need shelters, clean water and medicine,” said the villager. Relief workers, camp management leaders and locals who The Irrawaddy contacted urged the junta forces not to fire at civilians and the IDP camps. The relief worker from Pekon added, “There is no guaranteed safe place for the IDPs, because the junta forces even fire at the churches where people are sheltering and white flags are flying.”
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
2021-05-26
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-26
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "A new report by the Karenni Civil Society Network (KCSN) raises concerns about international ?peace support” programming amid st increasing Burma Army militarization in Karenni State after the2012 ceasefire with the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP). The report ?Where is Genuine Peace?” exposes how a pilot resettlement project of the Norway-led Myanmar Peace Support Initiative (MPSI) in Shardaw Township is encouraging IDPs to return to an area controlled by the Burma Army where their safety cannot be guaranteed. The MPSI claims that between June 2013 and September 2014 it supported 1,431 IDPs to return to 10 Shadaw villages forcibly relocated in 1996. However, KCSN found only about a third of these IDPs in the villages, most of whom were working-age adults returning to carry out farming, but not daring to return permanently due to fears of renewed conflict. As in other parts of Karenni State, the Burma Army has been reinforcing troops and fortifying its positions in Shadaw, where there is a tactical command centre and over 20 military outposts. ?Instead of encouraging IDPs to return home be fore it is safe, international donors should be trying to ensure that the rights of conflict-affected villagers are protected,” said one of KCSN. ?There must be pressure on the government to pull back its troops from the ethnic areas and start political dialog ue towards federal reform.” KCSN also criticizes the MPSI for fuelling conflict by ignoring Karenni-managed social service organizations that have been providing primary health care and other support to IDPs in Shadaw for decades. MPSI?s health support was through the government system, which remains highly centralized and dysfunctional in Karenni State. ?Donors should not just give one-sided support to expand government services into ethnic conflict areas. This won?t be effective, and will only increase resentment and fuel conflict,” said KSWDC. The report also raises concerns about rampant resource extraction after the ceasefire, land confiscation, military expansions and lack of transparency around dam plans on the Salween and its tributaries in Karenni State. KCSN is calling for a moratorium on large-scale infrastructure and resource extraction projects in Karenni State until there is genuine peace." [from the KCSN press release of 5 December, 2014]
Source/publisher: Karenni Civil Society Network (KCSN)
2014-12-05
Date of entry/update: 2015-01-08
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 1.6 MB
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Description: Executive Summary: "The people of Karenni State are living ghosts. Their daily survival is an achievement; however, it also signifies their further descent into poverty and a spiralling system of repression. Whilst this report documents the deteriorating situation in Karenni State over the past six years, this is nothing new for the ethnically diverse population of this geographically small area. They have been living in a protracted conflict zone for over 50 years with no respite from decades of low-intensity conflict and frequent human rights abuses. All the while both State and Non-State actors have marginalised the grassroots communities? voices, contributing to the militarisation of their communities and societies. Burmese soldiers oppress Karenni villagers on a daily basis. Villagers are isolated from members of their own communities, and other ethnic groups; they report daily to local Burmese troops about Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) troop movements and other activities in their areas; community members spy on one another, reporting back to the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC); and they are punished by the SPDC in retaliation for the actions of the KNPP. All of these strategies create an environment of fear and mistrust between ethnic groups, communities, and even family members. These tactics successfully oppress the villagers, as they are too fearful and busy to think beyond daily survival. Further exacerbating the situation is the fact that villagers face oppression not only from the Burmese army, but also ceasefire groups and the KNPP. Soldiers from both the KNPP and ceasefire groups physically maltreat villagers and undermine their livelihoods. While these occurrences are certainly less frequent and less severe than similar acts by the SPDC, they still oppress the civilian population and undermine their ability and capacity to survive. Additionally the presence of many different actors has resulted in the militarisation of Karenni State. Thousands of landmines have been indiscriminately planted throughout the state, without adequate mapping or markings to minimise civilian causalities. The SPDC, ceasefire groups and the KNPP all recruit and have child soldiers in their armies. The Burmese army has the largest number of child soldiers anywhere in the world, and approximately 20 per cent of the KNPP?s troops are under 18 (the minimum age for recruitment into the armed forces under Burma?s national law). The increased militarisation of Karenni State has resulted in increases in human rights abuses. However villagers are staging their own non-violent resistance movement. They have developed and implemented a number of early warning systems and household and village-wide risk management strategies so as to minimise the impact of the SPDC and other armed groups violence and abuses. These resistance strategies have become the biggest threat to local and regional authorities; consequently the villagers are increasingly becoming the targets of hostilities from the Burmese army. Most people in Karenni State rely on agriculture as their primary source of income and are living a subsistence existence. Despite the villagers? best efforts to secure their livelihoods, their ability and capacity to do so is constantly undermined by the SPDC and, to a lesser extent, ceasefire groups and the KNPP via crop procurement, forced production of dry season crops, arbitrary taxation and fines, theft and destruction of property and food, forced labour and land confiscation. This is further exacerbated by the drought that has been occurring in Karenni State for the past decade, which affects crop yields. When coupled with skyrocketing commodity prices, villagers? ability to ebb out a living is further eroded – to the point of impossibility in some cases. The abject poverty in Karenni State prevents villagers from accessing basic health and education services. Whilst the SPDC claims to provide free health care and education, in reality this does not occur. Health and education services provided by the state are extremely expensive and are well-below international standards. As a result, for most people education and medical treatment becomes a luxury they simply cannot afford. As a result of poverty some villagers are turning to illegal activities in order to survive - mainly poppy production. In Karenni State there are two areas where villagers are growing poppies with the permission of ceasefire groups. Farmers can earn a significantly higher monetary return on their poppy yields than for other crops using the same quantity of land. Poppy growers can earn up to 300,000 Kyat per 1.5 kilogram package of raw opium they produce (a 1.5 kilogram package of raw opium can be produced in four months). A teacher supported by the SPDC would have to work for 60 months in order to earn the same amount. Additionally amphetamine type stimulants (ATS) are being produced in Karenni State. Three factories producing ATS in Karenni State have been identified, again in areas controlled by ceasefire groups; however as it is difficult to distinguish between factories and ordinary dwellings it is possible that there are many other ATS factories in Karenni State that have not been identified. Each factory can produce between 250,000 and 300,000 pills per month. From the three known factories in Karenni State between 9 million and 10.8 million ATS pills are being produced and released into the international drug market each year. Today over a quarter of the population in Karenni State have been forced from their homes as a direct result of the actions of the Burmese military junta. Between 70 and 80 per cent of those displaced are women and children. Displacement has increased 42 per cent since 2002 and represents eight per cent of the total population in Karenni State. Karenni State has the highest level of displacement to population ratio in all of eastern Burma. When similar comparisons are made to the five countries with the largest displaced populations in the world (Sudan, Colombia, Uganda, Iraq and the Democratic Republic of Congo) the percentage of displaced persons in Karenni State is alarmingly higher. Over 12 per cent of Sudan?s population is displaced – less than half that of Karenni State. Internally displaced persons (IDPs) in eastern Burma receive very little assistance, if any at all, primarily due to the policies of the SPDC, which severely restrict humanitarian agencies accessing these vulnerable populations. The SPDC deems IDPs as enemies of the state and implements a shoot on sight policy, which includes children and the elderly. IDPs are vulnerable to human rights abuses, exploitation and violence from the SPDC, as well as food shortages and have severely limited access to education and health care services. The most pressing need of the people and the IDP population is physical security. Most people have the capacity to earn a livelihood mitigating food shortages, to educate their children, establish a medical clinic and develop their communities; however, they lack the security necessary to do so. There are humanitarian organisations working in Karenni State, including local community based organisations (CBOs), nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) and international agencies such as the United Nations Development Programme. Despite this presence the humanitarian situation in Karenni State continues to deteriorate and people are finding themselves slipping further and further into the poverty abyss – with no foreseeable escape. The impacts from the situation in Karenni State are not confined to the State?s boundaries - they spill over into other states and divisions in Burma and also across international borders, especially into Thailand. These spill over effects in
Source/publisher: Burma Issues
2008-03-00
Date of entry/update: 2008-04-05
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 521.58 KB
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Description: Click on the on the html link above to go to a neater, paginated table of contents or on the pdf links below to go straight to the document .... PDF File 1: Cover and Contents. PDF File 2: Boundaries; Climate; Physical Features; Population; Ethnic Groups in Karenni; Gender Roles in Karenni; Agriculture, Land Distribution and Patterns of Recourse; Resources; Water; Communication, Trade and Transport Conflict in Karenni; A History of Conflict; The Pre-Colonial Period; The Colonial Period; Independence in Burma and the Outbreak of Civil War in the Karenni States; State and Non-State Actors including Armed Groups and Political Parties; The Role of the Tatmadaw; The Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP); The Karenni National People?s Liberation Front (KNPLF); The Shan State Nationalities Liberation Organisation (SSNLO); The Kayan New Land Party (KNLP; The NDF and CPB Alliances and their Impact in Karenni; War in the Villages; The Formation of Splinter Groups in the 1990s; The Economics of War; The Relationship between Financing the War and Exploitation of Natural Resources; The Course of the War; Cease-fires.... PDF file 3: Conflict-Induced Displacements in Karenni -- Defining Population Movements; Conflict Induced Displacement; Displacement in 1996; Displacements by Township; Relocation Policy; Services in Relocation Sites; Smaller Relocation Sites and so-called ?Gathering Villages?; Displacement into Shan State; Displacement as a Passing Phenomenon; Displacement, Resettlement and Transition; Women outside Relocation Sites. Development Induced Displacement -- Displacements in Loikaw City; Confiscation of Land by the Tatmadaw; Displacement as a Result of Resource Scarcity; Food Scarcity; Water Shortages; Voluntary Migrations. Health and education needs and responses: Health Policy; Health Services; Health Status of the Population; Communicable Diseases; Nutrition; Reproductive and Women?s Health; Landmine Casualties; Iodine Deficiency and Goitre; Vitamin A Deficiency; Water and Sanitation; Responses to Health Needs; Education Policy; Educational Services and Coverage; Traditional Attitudes to Education; Educational Services in Karenni; Responses to Educational Needs; Responses from the Thai-Burma border; Responses by International Humanitarian Agencies from Inside Burma. Appendices: A Comparison of Populations in Relocation Sites in Karenni; Refugee Arrivals at the Thai Border; Displacements by Township; Examples of Population Movements.
Creator/author: Vicky Bamforth, Steven Lanjouw, Graham Mortimer
Source/publisher: Burma Ethnic Research Group (BERG)
2000-05-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : htm pdf pdf pdf
Size: 5.46 KB 472.28 KB 782.74 KB 1.32 MB
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Description: This report documents human rights violations carried out by troops from the ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) against Karenni people in Karenni (Kayah) State in eastern Burma. Information regarding human rights abuses in the area has come from interviews with Karenni refugees who have fled into Thailand, and with officials from the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP). ADDITIONAL KEYWORDS: forced resettlement, forced relocation, forced movement, forced displacement, forced migration, forced to move, displaced
Source/publisher: ABSDF
1997-05-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : html
Size: 31.16 KB
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Description: "Testimony by a refugee from central Karenni (Kayah) State and List of Villages Relocated in March 1992." "(Northwest Karenni State) List of 76 villages relocated in March 1992. Deemawso and Pruso Townships March, July 92. Karenni men, women: Rape; forced labour incl. portering and work on the Loikaw-Aung Ban railway -- 91); extortion; forced relocation; religious intolerance (the villages were Christian)..." ADDITIONAL KEYWORDS: forced resettlement, forced relocation, forced movement, forced displacement, forced migration, forced to move, displaced
Source/publisher: Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) Regional & Thematic Reports
1992-12-31
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : html
Size: 14.34 KB
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Description: "Statement by Karenni refugees fleeing a SLORC ultimatum to all villagers in a large part of the State where the Karenni opposition is strong to leave their villages or die. Their statements describe some of the SLORC army?s activities in civilian villages of western Karenni..."
Source/publisher: Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) Regional & Thematic Reports
1992-06-12
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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