Rebels Clash Along Thai-Burmese Border

At least four skirmishes broke out on Tuesday morning between the Karen National Liberation Army, the military wing of the Karen National Union, and Karen splinter groups aligned with Burma’s ruling junta, according to KNLA sources.
“Until this afternoon, there have been four clashes near the Thai-Burma border village of Thay Baw Bo,” an official from the KNLA headquarter told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday. “The enemies have reinforced the area with about one hundred soldiers and more battles are expected later today," he added.
No causalities have yet been reported from today’s fighting.
The skirmishes occurred in KNU-controlled areas of 6th Brigade opposite Thailand’s Phop Phra district of Tak Province, where one of the junta-backed splinter groups, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, began operations against the KNU in early March with support from the Burmese army.
The DKBA left the KNU and negotiated peace with Burma’s military government in 1995.
Residents in Phop Phra district said that about 200 villagers have fled the area since last month in anticipation of the fighting.
A medic from the Mae Tao Clinic in Mae Sot, Thailand, told The Irrawaddy that four DKBA soldiers from Shwe Kokko village near Myawaddy, three KNLA soldiers from 6th Brigade, two villagers and one porter have been admitted to a hospital in Mae Sot after sustaining injuries from land mines.
Refugees in Noh Poe camp, opposite 6th Brigade on the Thai side of the border, remain watchful after reports that the DKBA may target the camp.
“We have to be careful since we heard that they [DKBA and Burma Army] will come and attack the camp,” one resident of Noh Poe said. “But so far, we have seen no sign of it.
Meanwhile, refugees in two other camps—Mae La, about 30 km outside Mae Sot, and Mae La Oon, opposite 7th Brigade in Thailand’s Mae Hong Son Province—have feared for several days that DKBA troops would attack the camps.
Camp authorities have warned residents to keep their lights out after dark under penalty of punishment. According to one camp resident in Mae La, refugees could lose their ID card, their refugee status and even their place in the camp if they do not follow the camp leaders’ warnings.

Shah Paung
Irrawaddy
24/4/07

Image: KNLA Soldiers - Paul Keenan - KHCPS Archive

DKBA 907 Battalion poised to attack Noh Poh Refugee Camp

The DKBA's 907 Battalion is preparing to attack Noh Poh refugee camp in Thailand's Umphang district according to sources close to the DKBA. The 907 Battalion will be joining troops of the DKBA's 999 Special Battalion and the KNU/KNLAPC in threats to refugee camps in Thailand.

The market area in the camp has already been closed and goods, which are normally transported from Mae Sot, are not longer allowed into the camp. The threats are likely to cause major disruption with the camps population soon to receive UN negotiated Refugee cards clearing stating thier current status - which up until now was not recognized due to Thailand's failure to ratify the appropriate UN - as refugees.

KHCPS
20/4/07

Refugees Fear Attacks on Camps in Thailand

Increased security measures have been initiated at refugee camps near the Thailand-Burma border as tensions within rival Karen rebel groups continues to mount, according to sources along the border.
Officials at the Mae La refugee camp in Thailand’s Tak Province have ordered residents to keep their lights out after dark and to stay alert following skirmishes between the Karen National Union and two splinter Karen groups, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army and a second group that calls itself the KNU/KNLA Peace Council. Both splinter groups are allied with the Burmese army.
“We have to shut down all the lights at 8 p.m., including all electric generators and even candle lights,” said one Mae La resident.
The order came after reports that the splinter Karen groups were planning an attack on the refugee camp, one of the largest in Thailand with an estimated population of more than 40,000. Relatives of many KNU members live in Mae La camp.
The potential threat to camp refugees has caught the attention of international rights groups. “These civilians face grave threats as the Burmese-government-backed ethnic Karen militias appear to be positioning artillery and heavy machine guns overlooking the Mae La refugee camp,” a statement issued by New York-based Human Rights Watch said.
Burmese communities in the nearby city of Mae Sot have also been alerted to stay indoors after dark for security reasons, border sources said.
Clashes between the opposing groups have increased since the DKBA and its allies launched attacks on KNLA bases near the Thai-Burmese border. At least three of their camps, including the headquarters of the KNLA Battalion 101, located opposite the Thai village of Mae Ramat, have been captured by the splinter Karen rebels.
The threat to the Mae La camp is “real,” KNU General Secretary Mahn Sha told The Irrawaddy on Friday, adding that the rival groups have turned against civilians who did not support their break from the KNU.
Despite elevated security concerns, no clashes were reported on Friday, according to Mahn Sha.

Irrawaddy
20/4/07

Burmese Karen group said using people as “minesweepers”

[Newsreader] State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) troops and the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) are still launching offensives in the territories controlled by the Karen National Union (KNU), and hundreds of Karen people have crossed over to the Thai side as DKBA soldiers are forcing them to work as porters.

People who fled the battle zone say DKBA soldiers have also been burning down villages, farms, and plantations.
Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) correspondent Ko Htet Yarzar filed this report.
[Begin recording] [DVB] DKBA units entered the areas controlled by the KNU’s 6th Brigade several days ago. Over 100 villagers from Mae Kha Nae, Htimu Hta, and Nobo villages have fled to Thailand because DKBA troops have been forcing them to work as porters.
Among these people was a woman from Mae Kha Nae who recounted her experience this way:
[Unidentified Karen woman] DKBA entered the area and took away our village chairman and forced him to work as a porter. They also rounded up the villagers. The chairman and many other villagers, about 60 of them, were taken away. The DKBA wielding arms went around the village making threats. They said that if they could not find men in the village, they would force women to work as porters. Since they also burned down the rice granaries, it will be difficult to get food.
[DVB] Another villager who was also a witness to the scenes said the DKBA was not only rounding up porters but also burning farms and plantations and making the local people serve as human minesweepers.
[Unidentified Karen man] They left a trail of fire along the route they travelled and also planted mines. They actually burned only a few places but the fire spread and burned down everything, including homes and rubber plantations. Two rubber plantations with more than 1,000 trees each, 10 coffee plantations, about 12 durian farms, and more than 20 rice granaries were destroyed in the fire set by the DKBA. A DKBA soldier would travel between a villager walking in front and another behind, and another villager would be carrying his supplies. The person in front is actually used as a minesweeper because he would be the first to step on the mines if they were present. (?Three) villagers were hurt by mines and many cattle died because of them. These happened at Mae Kha Nae, Htimu Hta, and Nobo villages.
[DVB] KNU General Secretary Phado Mahn Shar had this to say about the situation of the 7th Brigade and about DKBA entering the territory of the 6th Brigade.
[Phado Mahn Shar] The DKBA is conducting a mopping up campaign in the 6th Brigade area, which is located south of Thingan Nyi Naung. The campaign is underway in Mae Kha Nae, Htimu Hta, and Nobo areas. The unit carrying out the campaign, I believe, is the 907th DKBA unit. During the campaign, they let people walk in front in the forests and since the local people did not want to do that, they fled.
[DVB] The SPDC and DKBA joint forces started their offensive on 7 April in the areas controlled by the 7th Brigade, and during the operation, they have taken control of four small bases of that brigade. [End recording]
That was a report by Ko Htet Yarzar.
We will now interview Ko Maung Too about the battlefield situation. How is the situation there, Ko Maung Too?
[Begin recording] [Maung Too] The present situation can be described as calm. I asked KNU officials about the situation and was told that the SPDC and DKBA troops have been clearing the areas, forcing people to work as porters, and some villagers have fled from the area to avoid being used as porters. I was informed that the number of SPDC and DKBA troops is growing in the 6th and 7th Brigade areas, and fighting can resume any day now. The past several days have been quiet because of Thingyan Water Festival but fighting can resume now.
[DVB] I see. We have been told that the DKBA has been forcing people to volunteer as porters. Have you contacted the DKBA about the matter?
[Maung Too] Yes, I did make some enquiries, and DKBA officials denied that they were forcing people to work as porters. But, they admitted that villagers were being recruited as volunteers and that these volunteers had been helping them. They confirmed that they were carrying out a mopping-up campaign in the border areas controlled by the 6th and 7th Brigades.
[DVB] How are the developments affecting the All Burma Students’ Democratic Front (ABSDF) which is operating in the area?
[Maung Too] There are two student army battalions - the 8th and the 9th - in the areas controlled by the 6th and the 7th KNU Brigades. The 8th Battalion which had its base in the 7th KNU Brigade area withdrew from the region even before Bo Htain Maung’s group started the peace talks. What I can say is that the movement of the ABSDF units in Karen territories is now restricted and none of the ABSDF leaders could predict what would happen in the future. [End recording]
That was a report by Ko Maung Too, a correspondent who had closely been monitoring the fight between the KNU and the SPDC.

Source: Democratic Voice of Burma, Oslo, in Burmese 1430 gmt 18 Apr 07

Image: troops of 907 Battlion on Parade at Waley - Paul Keenan -KHCPS Archive

Burmese take Thai hostage

A Thai citizen captured by the pro-junta Democratic Karen Buddhist Army of Burma has been held since last Thursday, the foreign ministry said.

Tarit Charungwat, director general of the department of information and ministry spokesman, said the Buddhist Karens originally captured two Thai civilians, but have released one.
Authorities were working to try to secure the release of the second man, known only as Chortho.
Mr Thongsuk and a companion were seized on the northern Thai-Burmese border, said the spokesman.
Mr Tarit said that Thai and Burmese authorities were both working on the problem. The Democratic Karen Buddhist Army is a pro-Rangoon group responsible for violence along the border.

Mon 16 Apr 2007 
Bangkok Post

Army and Its Proxies Threaten Refugee Camps

Burma's military government should end joint military attacks, carried out with ethnic Karen militias, on civilians in Karen State, Human Rights Watch said today. These attacks have caused hundreds of refugees to flee to Thailand since April 8. In addition, the Burmese government should immediately prevent its proxy militias from launching cross-border attacks on long-established refugee camps in Thailand.
Human Rights Watch called on the Thai government to provide asylum to fleeing refugees, and to protect all the refugees from cross-border raids on civilians fleeing fighting and oppression in Burma. Some 400 civilians have sought sanctuary in Thailand since the Burmese army and its proxy ethnic Karen militias began attacks on anti-government Karen forces on April 8.
These civilians face grave threats as the Burmese-government-backed ethnic Karen militias appear to be positioning artillery and heavy machine guns overlooking the Mae La refugee camp. Direct attacks on civilians are a clear violation of international humanitarian law, and cross-border attacks on refugee camps by armed groups are a flagrant violation of international law.
"The Burmese government's brutal campaign against ethnic minorities inside the country has already resulted in gross violations of human rights," said Sophie Richardson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "Any extension of that campaign across the border to attack refugees would show just how blatant these forces' abuses are."
In military actions since April 8, the Burmese army and its proxy forces � the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) and a new breakaway Karen faction, called the Karen State Peace Council � have captured three military bases of the anti-government Karen National Union (KNU) in Burma. This has prompted more than 400 civilians living nearby to seek sanctuary across the border in Thailand.
Since April 9, DKBA and Burmese military units have positioned artillery and heavy machine guns overlooking Mae La refugee camp, which shelters more than 45,000 Burmese civilians, most of whom are ethnic Karen. The same day, the Thai government moved hundreds of Border Patrol Police to the area, suggesting that an attack into Thailand by the Burmese forces may be imminent. Many refugees in Mae La camp have prepared to flee further into Thailand if attacks occur in the coming days.
"Since Thailand is now celebrating one of its most important annual festivals, the Burmese government knows that far fewer international observers than usual will be watching activity along the border," said Richardson. "The international community needs to keep a close watch on the situation, encourage Thailand to protect the refugees, and find ways of providing assistance themselves."
The Karen National Union (KNU), which fought the Burmese government for 60 years, signed a ceasefire arrangement with the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) in December 2003. Following Burmese government violations of that agreement, the ceasefire effectively broke down last year. Early last year, SPDC forces launched a major military offensive against the KNU and Karen civilians in northern Karen State that displaced nearly 30,000 civilians and drove thousands more to the border with Thailand. And early this year, a former commander of the KNU, Brigadier Htain Maung of Brigade 7, signed an agreement with Burmese military commanders to form a pro-government militia force in central Karen State, called the Karen State Peace Council, which has received government funding for local development projects.
The DKBA and Karen State Peace Council military factions work closely with the SPDC army on local security operations and business projects. Following its break from the KNU in late 1994, the DKBA has been implicated in a series of cross-border attacks on refugee camps in Thailand. Between 1995 and 1999, scores of attacks on camps resulted in hundreds of civilian deaths. In 1998, the Huay Kaloke camp was destroyed twice by DKBA and Burmese army units. Many of the refugees who lived there were subsequently moved further from the border to Mae La and Umpiem Mai camps to deter these brutal punitive raids.
In the 1990s, dozens of Thai security personnel and civilians were also killed in these raids. Thai security forces during this period frequently abandoned the camps and refused to protect refugees from Burmese military attacks on civilians, resulting in even more violent abuses and extrajudicial killings of refugees.
The United States, Australia, Norway, Canada and Sweden have agreed to provide refuge for Karen civilians, many of whom have lived in refugee camps for more than two decades. Late last year, following US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's waiving of stringent "material support" provisions that had classified all Karen as insurgents and therefore ineligible for admission to the United States, the US government committed to resettling more than 10,000 Karen in 2007 alone. The other four countries have also pledged to provide refuge to thousands of people living in more than 10 camps inside Thailand.
Human Rights Watch called on these governments to condemn military attacks on civilians that have perpetuated the long-standing cycle of violence in Burma, and support Thailand's efforts at providing shelter for people fleeing fighting.
"After years in refugee camps and combat zones, these civilians now live in the fear of cross-border attacks," Richardson said. "Burma's plans to attack civilians and jeopardize their access to food are deplorable, and the international community should condemn this in the strongest possible terms."


13-4-07
Human Rights Watch/Reuters Alerts

Myanmar seizes key rebel bases: Thai military

Pro-government forces in Myanmar have seized four key ethnic Karen rebel bases, after several days of fierce fighting near the Thai border, Thai military officials said Thursday.

Myanmar’s military and a pro-government militia seized the Karen National Union bases after nearly a week of fighting that saw mortar and other artillery being fired near the Thai border, said Colonel Kasem Tanaporn, a Thai border official.
A few shells landed on the Thai side of the border, but no one was injured, he said.
Some 300 people had crossed into Thailand during the week to escape the fighting, but most had returned once the violence ended Wednesday, said Phumchai Tapankaew, leader of a Thai district along the border.
Myanmar military analyst Win Min said that one of the bases was the headquarters of KNU’s Brigade 7, one of the most important of the rebels’ seven brigades because it controlled key border crossing points to allow forces to slip in and out of the country.
“Compared to other brigades, Brigade 7 is not the strongest, but it’s a big area for ceremonies and border crossings,” he said.
The brigade’s leader, General Htain Maung, surrendered to Myanmar in February along with 300 fighters.
“That’s the main reason that they lost, because he knew the area very well,” Win Min said of the military’s latest conquests.
The KNU is the largest rebel group fighting Myanmar’s armed forces and one of the few remaining ethnic insurgent groups yet to sign a peace deal with the junta.
Myanmar, under military rule since 1962, has signed ceasefires with 17 other ethnic armed groups.
Up to 150,000 Karen refugees already live in camps along Thailand’s border with Myanmar. Many of them have been there for more than 20 years.

200 Karen cross border from Burma

At least 200 Karen refugees fled to Thailand after Burmese forces seized the headquarters of Karen National Union's 7th brigade on Tuesday.
The refugees started arriving in Tak's Mae Ramat district after fighting broke out on Sunday between about 700 Burmese government troops and KNU fighters.
The Thai army yesterday fired smoke shells as a warning after five stray mortar rounds landed on Thai soil.
"This battle is close to the Thai border. Impacts on Thailand are unavoidable, particularly on the refugees.
"Our much-awaited hope to send home Burmese refugees whom we have accepted since 1984 under the UNHCR policy may fade away," said a Thai security officer.
The battle in Burma may strain cross-border security, trade and bilateral cooperation efforts.
On Sunday, the KNU stronghold was under attack from Rangoon forces backed up by KNU defectors _ the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army and Karen National Union/Karen National Liberation Army Peace Council.
The Burmese junta's forces were led by Maj-Gen Htay Maung, former 7th brigade commander, who joined the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) in late February.
After three days of fighting, 200 KNU troops could not withstand the offensive and withdrew from their outpost opposite Mae Ramat district.
The number of casualties has not been confirmed, but is said to number at least 50.
KNU general secretary Padoh Mahn Shar Larpan said: "Burma chooses to fight. It seems like the door to peace talks may be shut down temporarily until the tension eases."
The KNU expected the junta to continue attacking rebels throughout the summer.
The refugees, under the care of the Karen Refugee Committee and the Thai-Burma Border Consortium, are staying at Mae La refugee camp in Tha Song Yang district of Tak.

KNU’s 7th Brigade Under Fire

Fighting continued on Thursday in Karen State’s 7th Brigade between the Karen National Liberation Army and junta-backed splinter groups, with the KNLA abandoning several of their camps.
Soldiers from Battalion 101 of the KNLA, the military wing of the Karen National Union, told The Irrawaddy from the front lines of the fighting that at least one skirmish broke out on Thursday with soldiers from the Burmese junta-backed Karen breakaway group Democratic Karen Buddhist Army.
“About 200 of them are now moving towards our position, and more clashes are imminent later today,” one KNLA soldier said.
Sources near the Thai-Burmese border say that the Burmese army has requested Thai authorities to allow their soldiers and members of the DKBA to operate within a one-mile area of Thai soil—a request that has reportedly been granted—without interference from the Thai military or border police.
Furthermore, sources say Thai authorities have ordered Thai villagers to seize KNLA weapons from soldiers if they cross into Thailand bearing arms. A spokesperson from Thailand’s 17th Regiment Infantry Task Force was unavailable for comment on Thursday.
Clashes have occurred regularly since April 7, according to the KNU Supreme Headquarters, with one KNLA soldier dead and another injured. At least three from the DKBA and the Burmese army have been killed, with several more injured by landmines, the KNU headquarters said.
In six days of fighting, the DKBA, with the support of the Burmese army, has overrun at least six KNLA camps, including Battalion 24 headquarters and camps in Thay Ka Ya, Maw Pah Thoo, Ta Law, as well as the headquarters of Battalion 101 and another camp headed by Col Johnny in 7th Brigade.
According to a statement issued by KNU Supreme Headquarters on Thursday, the Burmese army tasked the DKBA to attack areas in 7th Brigade, while its Light Infantry battalions 231, 355, 356, 546, 98, and 28—under the Military Operations Command 12—provided support.
Other splinter groups are also said to have contributed troops for the offensive against the KNU. A recent splinter group calling itself the KNU/KNLA Peace Council has reportedly assisted the DKBA.
Burmese troops have also occupied areas of KNU 6th Brigade and are reportedly receiving assistance from a Karen ceasefire group known as the Haungthayaw Special Region Group led by Tha Mu Hei, the former Battalion 16 commander in 6th Brigade, who surrendered to the junta in 1997.
Recent fighting has displaced nearly 300 villagers who have fled across the border to Mae Ramat in Thailand’s Tak province—opposite Karen State’s 7th Brigade—according to the Karen Refugee Committee. About 200 of them have since returned to Karen State.
The KRC said an additional 200 villagers crossed the Thai border in Pop Phra district, Tak province to escape the fighting.

SPDC pressures DKBA to support KNLA Peace Council

Sources close to the DKBA have confirmed that recent military operations inside the KNLA's 7th Brigade area are a result of SPDC pressure on the DKBA's 999 Special battalion to support the recent breakaway faction of Brigadier Htain Maung and to further exacerbate Karen factionalism.

Two columns of the DKBA, under the command of Maung Chit Thu, have joined a Burmese army offensive and have been engaged in strikes against the KNLA resulting in the loss of the two KNLA headquarters at 101 and 24 Battalion.

Tensions have been rising along the Thai-Burma border after the 7th Brigade commander Brigadier Htain Maung, split with the KNLA and formed, with the support of the SPDC, his own seperate faction in late January. The faction, which is militarily weak after a number of its members returned to the KNLA, has been given defacto control of a small area based around the village of Toh Kaw Ko.

KHCPS
11-4-07
Image: KNLAPC stamp

Myanmar border clashes kill 17, wound 19 - rebels

Clashes along the Thai border between Myanmar soldiers and an ethnic rebel group have killed at least 17, wounded 19 and forced hundreds to flee to Thailand, Thai officials and a pro-Myanmar militia said on Sunday.

Myanmar troops and its allied militia, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), raided three outposts of the Karen National Union (KNU) in the Karen State along the Thai border at 2 a.m. on Sunday (1900 GMT), a Thai security official told Reuters.

DKBA troops travelling by boat on the Moei River launched rockets that killed at least three KNU guerrillas. The DKBA also lost eight men in a landmine set by the KNU, said the official who declined to be identified.

The clashes, which lasted about an hour, also wounded at least 19 people on both sides. The KNU retreated and their positions have been taken by Myanmar and DKBA soldiers, said a Reuters journalist who was observing from the Thai side of the river.

The raids, which prompted 300 Karen villagers to cross the river to the Thai border town of Mae Ramard, came shortly after KNU troops raided a checkpoint in the Myanmar border town of Myawadi late on Saturday, killing five policemen and a soldier, a DKBA official said.

"The KNU has broken the agreement with the Myanmar government that it would not attack the Asia 1 highway during the temporary ceasefire," agreed in December 2003, the DKBA official said.

No formal peace deal has been agreed and skirmishes continue with government troops and their allies.

The KNU and its armed wing, the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), have been fighting the central government for greater autonomy since 1949.

The rebels suffered a major setback in late 1994 when a Buddhist faction, now the DKBA, staged a mutiny against the Christian-dominated group, breaking away and eventually defecting to join the Myanmar government side.

The split was a key factor in the collapse of the KNU headquarters at Manerplaw in early 1995.

Fighting between the KNU and the Myanmar troops along the Thai border has intensified since last month when Bangkok called in Myanmar's ambassador to protest over the death of a Thai soldier killed in clashes between Myanmar troops and the KNU.

Reuters
8-4-07
Image: Karen flag at 101 Battlion - KHCPS Archive

Over 130 Families Flee to Thailand as Burma Army Attacks

On 7 April 2007, at midnight, the Burma Army, along with the DKBA launched a series of attacks against the Karen (KNU) along the Thai-Burma border north of Mae Sot. The attacks proceeded through the 8th and are ongoing as of 9 April 2007.
Eight columns from at least three Burma Army battalions (355, 356, and 357) are involved in the attack. They are accompanied by two columns of DKBA Battalion 999, commanded by Chit Tu, and one element under ex-KNU 7th Brigade commander Htin Maung (who has made a personal alliance with the dicators' army).

The attacks occurred from south to north targeting villages and KNU positions along the Moei River. On the 8th, two columns hit KNLA 101 battalion area at The Law They Hta twice, once in the morning and once in the evening. Also in the evening evening, the Burma Army attacked Thay Kai Yah, an IDP site. The villagers had heard of the coming attack and had fled to the Thai side the day before (on 7 April 2007). During these attacks, a KNLA captain was killed (The Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) is the military branch of the Karen National Union (KNU)).

On the morning of the 8th at about 2:15 am, the Burma Army attacked Hta Law, the Karen Youth Organization head quarters. This is opposite from Mae Rah Mat along the Thai/Burma border. The Burma Army now occupies that area.
Following this, five columns attacked KNLA 24 Battalion area at Maw Pana Hta. North of this, the Karen National Defense Organization (KNDO, another military branch of the KNU) base on the Moei River was attacked. North of the KNDO position, the 7th Brigade head quarters at See Ta Taw were also attacked.

In support of these attacks, the Burma Army is using 81mm and 60mm mortars and .50 caliber heavy machine guns.
These attacks have displacd more than 130 Karen families, who have all fled to the Thai side of the border. An estimated 30 families fled from Loh Di Tah, 50 families from Thay Kai Yah, 30 families from Tha Koh Klah, along with 20 more families from areas near the fighting. These numbers are low estimates and may still increase because of continuing attacks.

Free Burma Rangers
8-8-07
Image: Sign outside 999 Special Battalion H.Q. - Paul Keenan - KHCPS

KNU/KNLA Peace Council accuses KNU of attack

The splinter Karen rebel group, KNU/KNLA Peace Council has accused the Karen National Union of launching a one-sided attack on its members, including a senior leader of the group on Sunday.

Major Maung Kyaw, Liaison officer of the Peace Council, told Mizzima today, "The attack was deliberate and was planned to kill Col Ler Mu (pictured left with his uncle Brig. Gen. Htain Maung) and his followers." He warned that such attacks in the future could instigate rivalry between the two Karen rebel groups.

A group of armed men on April 1, attacked Col Ler Mu, a senior member of the Peace Council, and five of his followers, who were traveling on a boat in Thaungyin River along the Thai-Burmese border.

Col Ler Mu, reportedly sustained several injuries on his back and a boy of 12, lost his right eye. The liver of another aged 13, was damaged and he is in a critical condition.

Kyaw said the attack was carried out on the orders of the KNU general Secretary Padoh Man Shar. "We have information that Man Shar had ordered Col Johnny to carry out the attack."

Col Ler Mu and followers were attacked near the base of the KNU's 7th Brigade, which is under the charge of Col Johnny, Padoh Saw Arrtoe and Col Htun Kyaing following the dismissal of former commander Brig-Gen Htay Maung.

"We do not want a war between Karen groups. Our principle is to make peace, that's why we have even reached a peace agreement with the enemy [Burmese junta]," he added.

However, Kyaw said, "If such incidents continued in the future it might be difficult to control members of the Peace Council not to react as it costs people's lives."

Padoh Man Shar, General Secretary of KNU, however, denied all the allegations saying "we don't know anything about the incident."

"Their [Peace Council] claims are baseless. The KNU will never do such things, and how can they prove that it was KNU soldiers who attacked them," Man Shar told Mizzima.

Man Shar said there are a lot of conflicts among members of the Peace Council itself. And between the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) and the Peace Council, led by Brig-Gen Htay Maung, who was removed from the central committee of the KNU for flouting committee rules.

"It is ridiculous to blame the KNU for the attack. Thaungyin River is such a small river in summer, if the attack was by the KNU, no one would have survived that day," Man Shar told Mizzima.

Mizzima
4/04/07
Image: Paul Keenan - KHCPS

Funeral of Former Karen Defense Force Leader

More than 300 mourners attended the funeral on Monday of Gen Kyaw Thaung, a former head of the Karen National Defense Organization, who died aged 83 after a two-year fight against cancer. The funeral took place at the base of the Karen National Liberation Army’s Battalion 101. Kyaw Thaung, who was born in Pantanaw township, in Irrawaddy division, led the KNDO until ill health forced his retirement in 2004. The KNDO was formed in 1947 to provide security in areas controlled by the Karen National Union.



Monday, April 02, 2007
Image: Kwe Kalu