"A small but steady flow of refugees from Pa'an District continue to cross the border into Thailand as living conditions in Pa'an District continue to deteriorate. SLORC is increasingly in control there, and the DKBA (Democratic Kayin Buddhist Army, the Karen group allied to SLORC) is present throughout the area but is increasingly functioning only as an adjunct to SLORC; DKBA troops are now even supervising forced labour on road construction, especially on a new 50-km. road from Pa'an to DKBA headquarters at Myaing Gyi Ngu. The Karen National Liberation Army has recently stepped up its guerrilla activities in the southern part of the District, which is only bringing down even heavier SLORC retaliation on the villagers. People continue to be arbitrarily arrested, tortured and summarily executed by SLORC and the DKBA in the area, either because they have past or suspected connections with the KNLA or simply because the troops want to steal their land and belongings..."