1-1
1-2
1-3
1-1
1-2
1-3
Photos #1-1, 1-2, 1-3: On 18 November 2004, a column from SPDC LIB 589 burned houses and rice supplies in Klaw Lu village, near Yah Aw (Yan Aung), Nyaunglebin district, in the hills east of Shwegyin town. These photos were taken the following day. The square of ash in photo 1-1 used to be the house of the villager in the photo; he had returned to see if anything could be salvaged. Photo 1-2 shows all that remains of another house. Photo 1-3 shows part of a villager’s stored supply of paddy for the year, dumped on the ground and burned. (Photo and Text Source: KHRG, 2004)
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1-5
1-6
Photos #1-5, 1-6: When LIB 589 came into the Yah Aw area of Shwegyin Township and burned Klaw Lu village (see photos 1-1 through 1-3 in Section 1), everyone in Klaw Lu, K’Hee Day and Khaw Hta villages fled into the forest. Two days later on 20 November 2004, these photos show some of them after returning to their villages to retrieve some of their rice supplies so they can survive in the forest. (Photo and Text Source: KHRG, 2004)
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1-13
1-14
1-15
1-16
Photos #1-13, 1-14, 1-15, 1-16: By 21 November 2004, three days after SPDC LIB 589 had entered the area, the villagers from Klaw Lu, K’Hee Day and Khaw Hta were weaving thatch for roofing (photo 1-15) and building shelters. Saw G---, 40, was building a shelter along with his pregnant wife (photo 1-13); he said their house in Khaw Hta had been burned by LIB 589. Small children and pregnant women were given priority for the first shelters built. (Photo and Text Source: KHRG, 2004)
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1-22
Photo #1-22: On 23 November 2004, villagers from L---, in the same area of Shwegyin Township as the villages already burned, hurry to harvest as much paddy as they can. They were afraid that the LIB 589 column would come to destroy their village and fields any day. Even so their children remained in school, only coming into the fields to help with the harvest after school ended each day. (Photo and Text Source: KHRG, 2004)
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1-23
1-24
1-25
1-26
Photos #1-23, 1-24, 1-25, 1-26: Khaw Hta village in Nyaunglebin District was burned and destroyed house by house at the end of November 2004 by a combined column from SPDC LIB 589 (Battalion commander Saw Aung commanding) and LIB 350 (Battalion commander Than Naing commanding). As the SPDC column advanced under cover of night, all the villagers had to flee in the darkness; many of their belongings were left behind and destroyed by the troops, like the clay pots and household tools shown in photo 1-26. These photos were taken less than a week later. (Photo and Text Source: KHRG, 2004)
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1-28
1-29
Photos #1-28, 1-29: Photos 1-28 and 1-29 show villagers from Doo Pa Leh and Tee Blah villages, Shwegyin Township, Nyaunglebin district, in hiding in the forest after their villages were burned by SPDC troops in late November 2004. After burning the villages the column remained in the area, so people could not return home. (Photo and Text Source: KHRG, 2004)
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1-52
1-53
1-54
1-55
Photos #1-52, 1-53, 1-54, 1-55: The primary schools in Khaw Hta and Yah Aw villages, Nyaunglebin district, were among the buildings burned by SPDC troops from LIB 589 and LIB 350 at the start of December 2004. Photo 1-52 shows the remains of Khaw Hta school a few days after it was burned. The people of both villages fled into the forest, where within a few days the schoolteachers had set up makeshift blackboards (photo 1-53) and students from both villages tried to continue learning (photos 1-54 and 1-55). (Photo and Text Source: KHRG, 2004)
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9-26
Photo #9-26: A primary school set up by internally displaced villagers for their children in the forest where they are hiding near H--- in Tantabin Township, Toungoo district. This photo was taken in August 2004. (Photo and Text Source: KHRG, 2004)
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2-4
Photo #2-4: A villager from T--- village, Lu Pleh Township, Pa’an District stands in the ruins of his house, burned by a DKBA soldier on 22 April 2004. (Photo and Text Source: KHRG, 2004)
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2-5
2-6
2-7
2-8
Photos #2-5, 2-6, 2-7, 2-8: Villagers stand among the ruins of M--- village in Than Daung Township, Toungoo District, burned on 19 December 2003 by troops from SPDC LID 55, LIB 509 commanded by Battalion Commander Nyunt Win. These villagers live in the hills not near any SPDC Army camp. On hearing that the villagers had returned to their village, the column was sent out to burn it. Photo 2-8 shows some of their destroyed containers with a pile (foreground) of destroyed betelnut, a cash crop grown by local farmers. These photos were taken in December 2003 and January 2004. (Photo and Text Source: KHRG, 2004)
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3-1
Photo #3-1: Taken in October 2004, this shows part of a relocation site at Naw Htaw Pwa in Nyaunglebin District. Several villages were forced to move here earlier in 2004. Villagers from this site are used for forced labor by SPDC Operations Commander Khin Maung Oo. (Photo and Text Source: KHRG, 2004)
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3-2
Photo #3-2: Villagers at Naw Htaw Pwa relocation site in Nyaunglebin District (see photo 3-1) spread out along the dirt road to do forced labor cutting and clearing scrub from the roadsides on 12 October 2004, under orders from SPDC Operations Commander Khin Maung Oo. These people were forced to move from their homes in S--- and P--- villages to the relocation site earlier in 2004 and are now regularly used for forced labor. Villagers are forced to clear scrub from roadsides as a security measure to protect SPDC vehicles from ambush. They are provided with no tools and must clear even trees and dense scrub with nothing but machetes. Most of the workers in this photo are women. (Photo and Text Source: KHRG, 2004)
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3-4
3-5
3-6
3-7
3-8
3-9
Photos #3-4, 3-5, 3-6, 3-7, 3-8, 3-9: On 10 February 2004, G--- village in Nyaunglebin District was forced to relocate by SPDC LIB 599, under the orders of Bo Pyi Sone and Sgt. Nyi Nyi. These photos were taken two months later, when some of the villagers managed to revisit the village they had been forced to dismantle. Photo 3-6 shows the abandoned Catholic Church. Naw Y---, age 80 (photo 3-9), is from a nearby village and was unable to walk to the relocation site so she must stay behind alone. Note that this relocation occurred over a month after the informal KNU-SPDC ceasefire came into effect. (Photo and Text Source: KHRG, 2004)
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10-16
10-17
10-19
10-18
10-20
Photos #10-16, 10-17, 10-18, 10-19, 10-20: Photo 10-16 shows part of K--- village in Tantabin Township, Toungoo district, in August 2004. Villagers here say that whenever SPDC patrols approach their village they have to flee into the forest to avoid being taken for forced labour or otherwise detained. As a result they have difficulty farming, breeding livestock, and travelling around the area. Photos 10-17 and 10-18 show them heading through the forest in January 2004, one of the many times they have had to flee. In February 2004 they were still hiding in rough shelters in the forest (photos 10-19 and 10-20) because SPDC troops were still active around their village. Though living in their village part of the time, they consider themselves displaced. (Photo and Text Source: KHRG, 2004)
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10-35
10-36
10-37
10-38
Photos #10-35, 10-36, 10-37, 10-38: On 15 January 2004, a column from SPDC IB 94 moved into the area of H--- village in Than Daung Township, Toungoo district, so the villagers fled to the forest en masse. (Photo and Text Source: KHRG, 2004)
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10-40
10-41
10-42
Photos #10-40, 10-41, 10-42: Villagers fleeing K--- village in Lu Thaw township, Papun district, on 21 January 2004 as an SPDC Army column from LID 55 enters their area. In photo 10-40 an elderly villager struggles with a load, while the KNLA officer on the radio behind him monitors the column’s movements to make sure the villagers don’t walk into an ambush. Photo 10-41 shows a group of villagers resting in the forest along their way, and in photo 10-42 they have reached a shelter in the fields camouflaged by rice straw. (Photo and Text Source: KHRG, 2004)
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10-43
10-44
10-45
10-46
Photos #10-43, 10-44, 10-45, 10-46: Villagers flee K’Leh Loh village in Lu Thaw Township, Papun District to escape an approaching column of LID 55 in January 2004. (Photo and Text Source: KHRG, 2004)
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10-62
10-63
Photos #10-62, 10-63: In January 2004, the SPDC launched a full military offensive in southern Karenni (Kayah) State, using the informal ceasefire with the KNU as protection for their southern flank so they could attack forces of the KNPP (Karenni National Progressive Party) and forcibly relocate Karenni civilians into SPDC-controlled sites. SPDC LID 55 was moved in to the area along the recently completed Toungoo to Mawchi vehicle road which passes through Toungoo District. The offensive spilled over into Toungoo and Papun Districts of Karen State after the SPDC soldiers pursued Karenni villagers who sought to avoid internment in relocation sites by fleeing into northern Karen State. As SPDC units swept through the area, many Karen villagers also fled their villages. In photo 10-62, a group of Karenni villagers arrives at H--- in northern Papun District on 5 January 2004 after having fled their village at Y--- in southern Karenni (Kayah) State due to SPDC military activity. The remaining photos show some of the group 3 days later, camped out in the forest of Papun district. So far from their home village and fields and in a region new to them, they said they had no idea where they would find food or which way to flee should SPDC troops come near. (Photo and Text Source: KHRG, 2004)
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10-69
Photo #10-69: Karenni children on the run from SPDC LID 55 in the forest of northern Papun District on 9 January 2004. (Photo and Text Source: KHRG, 2004)
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A burning rice barn in the Shwegyin/Hsaw Htee area of Nyaunglebin District, Karen State in early December 2004. Active troops in the area included IB 57 and LIB 20, 264, 350, and 28. The troops had been engaging in ongoing attacks in the area since November and were burning paddy rice in conjunction with the attacks. (Source: FBR, 2004)
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A burned home in the Shwegyin/Hsaw Htee area of Nyaunglebin District, Karen State in early December 2004. In conjunction with ongoing fighting in the area, troops were burning down homes and paddy rice. (Source: FBR, 2004)
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IDPs in hiding after Burma Army attacks in Shwegyin/Hsaw Htee area of Nyaunglebin District, Karen State in November 2004. (Source: FBR, 2004)
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A women who is 8 months pregnant stands with all of her belongings in a hiding place prepared to flee in Nyaunglebin District, Karen State in late December 2004. (Source: FBR, 2004)
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Karen and Karenni IDPs forced into hiding on 6 January 2004 in northern Karen State by the Burma Army gathering in a ravine for medical treatment and relief administered by the FBR. (Source: FBR, 2004)
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A FBR relief team medic treats one of the over 1,000 IDPs now in hiding near the Karen-Karenni border on 7 January 2004. (Source: FBR, 2004)
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IDPs in hiding in northern Karen State in January 2004. On 30 December 2003, a major offensive against the Karenni extended into Karen State and continued against the Karen into early 2004. Thousands of Karenni were relocated and displaced as a result of this offensive and over 3,500 Karen villagers were driven from their homes in northern Karen State. (Source: FBR, 2004)
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IDPs in a hiding place in northern Karen State in January 2004. On 30 December 2003, a major offensive against the Karenni extended into Karen State and continued against the Karen into early 2004. Thousands of Karenni have been relocated and displaced as a result of this offensive and over 3,500 Karen villagers have been driven from their homes in northern Karen State. (Source: FBR, 2004)
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Karenni IDPs fleeing near the Karen-Karenni border in June 2004. (Source: FBR, 2004)
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Relief team medics perform an operation on a Karenni IDP near the Karen-Karenni border in July 2004. (Source: FBR, 2004)
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A FBR relief team treating an IDP in the Keh Der village area, Ler Doh Township, far western Karen State, in May-June 2004. There are over 3,550 IDPs in Ler Doh Township. Burma Army LIB 388 and 246 mobile troops, IB 60 base camp company, all under the control of MOC 3, have been active in this area from the beginning of 2004 to the time of this report, June 2004. (Source: FBR, 2004)
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A burnt down house in Pa'an District, Karen State, in May 2004. In this area, the Burma Army LIB 313 and DKBA troops are responsible for human rights abuses, including taking villagers for forced labor. (Source: FBR, 2004)
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A FBR relief team with IDPs in Pa'an District, Karen State, in May 2004. In this area, the Burma Army LIB 313 and DKBA troops are responsible for human rights abuses, including taking villagers for forced labor. (Source: FBR, 2004)
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A FBR medic attending to an IDP in Pa'an District, Karen State, in May 2004. In this area, the Burma Army LIB 313 and DKBA troops are responsible for human rights abuses, including taking villagers for forced labor. (Source: FBR, 2004)
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Arakan IDPs fleeing in boats in Arakan State in April 2004. (Source: FBR, 2004)
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A burnt down house in Arakan State in April 2004. (Source: FBR, 2004)
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Karenni IDPs in hiding in late June 2004. Burma Army troops entered Paho village, Karenni State, on 28 June and captured one villager. This villager had left the hiding place to gather his possessions. The Burma Army then approached the hiding place of the villagers causing the villagers to flee deeper into the jungle. (Source: FBR, 2004)
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Karenni IDPs fleeing from the Burma Army on 29 June 2004. Burma Army troops entered Paho village, Karenni State, on 28 June and captured one villager. This villager had left the hiding place to gather his possessions. The Burma Army then approached the hiding place of the villagers causing the villagers to flee deeper into the jungle. (Source: FBR, 2004)
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Karenni IDPs fleeing from the Burma Army on 29 June 2004. Burma Army troops entered into Paho village, Karenni State, on 28 June and captured one villager. This villager had left the hiding place to gather his possessions. The Burma Army then approached the hiding place of the villagers causing the villagers to flee deeper into the jungle. (Source: FBR, 2004)
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IDPs in hiding in the northern part of Lu Thaw Township, Papun District, Karen State, in March 2004. In this area, the Burma Army and KNSO troops are active. (Source: FBR, 2004)
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IDPs in hiding in the northern part of Lu Thaw Township, Papun District, Karen State, in March 2004. In this area, the Burma Army and KNSO troops are active. (Source: FBR, 2004)
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A FBR medic treating an IDP in the northern part of Lu Thaw Township, Papun District, Karen State, in April 2004. In this area, the Burma Army and KNSO troops are active. (Source: FBR, 2004)
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A medic assists a sick IDP woman as she flees the oppression of the Burma Army in Mong Pan area of Shan State, which is under the control of the Burma Army and the United Wa State Army (UWSA). (Source: FBR, 2004)
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A Free Burma Ranger medic treats a Shan IDP in Mong Pan area of Shan State in May 2004.
(Source: FBR, 2004)
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An IDP receives medical treatment in Kler Lwe Htoo District, Karen State.
(Source: FBR, 2004)
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A Karenni IDP woman receives medical treatment in Du Wah Hta Village, Karenni State, Burma. (Source: FBR, 2004)
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A house burned by the Burma Army on 18 November 2004 in the Ya Aung area, Nyaunglebin District, Karen State. (Source: FBR, 2004)
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A school burned down by the Burma Army on 27 September 2004 in Hsaw K’hta village, Mergui-Tavoy District, Tenasserim Division. (Source: FBR, 2004)
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An IDP receives medical treatment in an IDP site near Hsaw K’hta village, Mergui-Tavoy District, Tenasserim Division. (Source: FBR, 2004)
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