Two thousand Karen villagers displaced by Burma army

Posted on November 7, 2008
Filed Under Burma news, Karen news |

Almost two thousand villagers in western Karen state have been forced to flee their homes after attacks by the Burma army in central Mon Township, during which homes were destroyed and looted.  According to the Free Burma Rangers (FBR), 1,971 people are now in hiding, in two groups to the north and south of the township.
A 28 years old man was shot and killed as he fled. He is believed to be the only casualty so far. An FBR relief team is in the area and is providing medical assistance to villagers in hiding.
Christian Solidarity Worldwide has condemned the attacks.  Advocacy Officer for Burma, Ben Rogers said: “CSW strongly condemns these killings and the forcible displacement of so many innocent Karen villagers.”
He pointed to the planned visit to Burma by UN secretary-general Ban Ki-Moon and said there needed to be  international action against Burma to coincide with the visit. He called for the UN to set out specific benchmarks for progress, such as the release of political prisoners.
He added, “We call on the UN Security Council to impose a universal arms embargo on the regime in Burma and to refer a case against Burma’s Army Generals to the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity. It is now time to secure real and lasting change for the Karen people and all the peoples of Burma.”
Meanwhile, New Delhi based Mizzima News is reporting around 500 Karen were displaced in October alone. They quote the Committee for Internally Displaced Karen People (CIDKP), a Karen group working to help people displaced by the Burma Army.
According to a CIDKP spokesperson, many are unwilling to cross the border into Thailand for fear they will be turned away. She said they are now roaming the jungles along the Thai-Burma border without any help and are afraid to return home.

Comments

Leave a Reply




« Back to text comment