DKBA harassing Thai-Karen villages in Thailand
Posted on January 20, 2009
Filed Under Burma news, Karen news | Comments Off
Following recent attacks on the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA)’s 103 Battalion (see: Fighting intensifies along the border), troops from the breakaway Democratic Karen Buddhist Army crossed into Thailand and have since been operating in and around Thai-Karen villages in Thailand.
In a new report, the Karen Human Right Group (KHRG) claims DKBA troops have been harassing villagers, including destroying huts and stealing livestock in several villages in Thailand’s Umphang district. On one occasion, the KHRG alleges the DKBA troops even opened fire on Thai soldiers, having mistaken them for KNLA.
However, it seems the Thai authorities have been slow to respond to the problem, raising concerns among villagers. One villager said, “In my opinion, I would like the Thai government to say something to them [the DKBA]. The villagers are afraid that the DKBA will plant landmines in the vicinity of the village. Since they first arrived in the village, two of the villagers’ cows have died by their [DKBA] landmines. Therefore, in the future we’re afraid that people will be injured by their landmines. In the night time we dare not speak loudly-we’re afraid that they [DKBA] will come and kill us.”
The DKBA split from the Karen National Union in 1995 and signed a ceasefire agreement with the junta. A copy of the KHRG report can be downloaded here.
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