Burma Army Offensive Drives Villagers into Hiding

By SAW YAN NAING
An ongoing Burmese army offensive has forced more than 2,000 Karen villagers from Mon and Kyauk Gyi Townships in eastern Burma’s Pegu Division to seek shelter in the jungle, according to relief agencies active in the area.

The latest wave of Internally Displaced Persons began in early April following attacks by the Burmese army’s Light Infantry Battalions 247 and 276 under Military Operations Command 16, according to the Committee for Internally Displaced Karen People (CIDKP), a Karen relief group.

The Burmese army has been building new camps in the area since the beginning of the month, fueling fears of further attacks, said CIDKP coordinator Saw Steve.

“More than 200 villagers are from Kyauk Gyi Township and over 2,000 are from Mon Township,” Kyaw Ber, a relief worker who recently returned from the area, told The Irrawaddy on Monday. “They are still hiding in the jungle without sufficient food and medicine. They are also afraid of going back to work on their farms.”

The Burmese troops are now patrolling around the villages, said Kyaw Ber. Villagers will likely remain in the jungle as long as the Burmese troops remain in the area, he added.

Similarly, more than 2,000 Karen villagers from eight villages in Karen State’s Papun District have been forced to flee into the jungle since early March following fresh attacks by the Burmese army, according a Karen relief group, the Free Burma Rangers (FBR).

A joint campaign against ethnic Karen rebels was launched by Military Operations Commands 4 and 16 in northern Karen State, according to a recent FBR report. It added that government troops have been destroying any food or property they can find, and are hunting down villagers seeking shelter in the jungle.

The Burmese army has constructed over 60 new military camps in northern Karen State since the beginning of its dry-season offensive in 2006 and has completed a new road through Papun District, according to the FBR report.

A Burmese military offensive that began in February of 2006 in northern Karen State has killed more than 370 villagers, including children, and displaced more than 30,000 people. More than 5,000 displaced persons fled to the Thai-Burmese border area, according to relief groups.

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