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THE NATION: 50 killed as Karen raid
- Subject: THE NATION: 50 killed as Karen raid
- From: suriya@xxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 27 Mar 1998 17:15:00
Politics
50 killed as Karen raid
DKBA bases
Karen rebels simultaneously attacked three
bases of guerrillas allied with the Burmese
military government and killed at least 50
people near the tense border yesterday,
hours before the regime celebrated Armed
Forces Day with parading troops in the
capital, rebels and officials said.
The Karen National Union (KNU) told
Associated Press in Bangkok that 100 of
its fighters staged the attacks inside Burma
in revenge for a series of cross-border
raids by pro-government forces against
refugee camps in Thailand.
The Democratic Karen Buddhist Army
(DKBA) has crossed the border from
bases in Burma repeatedly this month,
burning down two camps and firing mortars
at another. Thailand has protested to the
Burmese government and threatened
retaliation against the intruders.
A Thai border police officer, speaking on
condition of anonymity, told The Nation that
at least 50 people were killed in the
one-hour raids, including some civilians,
and 20 people were injured. The KNU force
struck both a DKBA camp and burned
down a DKBA-controlled village and
sawmill.
Most of the 100,000 refugees from Burma
seeking shelter in Thailand are from the
Karen minority. The majority support the
KNU, which has fought for more Karen
autonomy for 50 years.
The raids against the camps have been
accompanied by an offensive inside Burma
by the government army against the KNU.
The rebels mustered 100 fighters equipped
with grenade launchers and assault rifles
and attacked three military camps,
opposite Tak province, with DKBA and
government troops on Thursday night, Thai
officials said.
The attacks lasted until early yesterday
morning.
''Our soldiers and our villagers are angry,''
Ner Dah, a KNU spokesman, said in
Bangkok. ''They attack us, they attack our
people several times. Now, we want to give
a little back to them.''
Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai this week
threatened ''all-out attacks'' against
intruders if refugee camps are attacked
again.
Army chief Chettha Thanajaro said on
Wednesday that the camps should not be
used to harbour anti-Burma rebels and that
able-bodied men suspected of being
combatants should be sent back to Burma
to defuse the threat of more cross-border
raids.
Although the move has been criticised by
non-governmental organisations (NGOs),
Chettha yesterday insisted that the Army
would carry out the policy. He said one of
the reasons that prompt fighting both on
Thai and Burmese soils is the KNU.
''Criticism by NGOs may be prompted by a
misunderstanding. When KNU soldiers who
stay in Thailand attack DKBA, DKBA
retaliates,'' he said.
Thai authorities yesterday searched Mae
Hla camp in Tak but did not found
weapons, which they said might have been
removed before the search.
A Burmese government official, in a faxed
statement to Bangkok, said that the
incidents were an internal Karen problem
and that the government does not
encourage incursions against neighboring
countries.
The statement said that KNU forces had
attacked a village inside Burma on
Tuesday in which three villagers were killed.
The refugees have claimed that the
offensive was part of a run-up to Armed
Forces Day by the Burmese military to
notch some victories before the important
holiday, marking the anniversary of
resistance against Japanese occupation in
1945.
The Nation, Associated Press