Pa’an District:

Villager Shot by Burma Army Proxy Force, Women Included in Forced Conscription

Map of report area (click on map for higher resolution image)

At 9:00 pm on the 30th of August, soldiers from the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (the DKBA, a proxy force of the Burma Army), Brigade 999, shot Maung Loo Aung, a 45-year-old man from Kler Ko village, as he fled to his hut. Soldiers from the brigade then stole from him 11 logs of teak, valued at 8,580 Thai baht (about U.S. $250) and his personal savings of 400 Thai baht (about U.S. $12). Clothing and food were also taken from the rest of the village.

On 21 August, Saw Maw Kya, 25, fled his home in Ta Ray Poe Kwee village, Lu Pler Township to Noh Boe Refugee camp on the Thai border after the DKBA 555 brigade’s pressure in recruiting troops from his village. The DKBA’s demand for soldiers has forced male villagers to flee their homes in order avoid the DKBA’s requirement of one male from each family. If the family cannot send anyone to the battalion, they must pay 500,000 kyat (about U.S. $500) in exchange. The battalion has also has begun to ask for women because of the lack of men in villages, and requires 100,000 kyat (about U.S. $100) in place of them.

Saw Maw Kya is just one example of ongoing forced recruitment which DKBA troops have been carrying out on the Thai-Burma border in an attempt to increase their total troop count in support of their activities within the Pa’an District. The influx of DKBA activity has forced villagers into hiding and, without access to their farms, villagers now face a shortage of food.

Children from Pa’an District in temporary shelters after fleeing attacks from the DKBA and Burma Army. (click on picture for higher resolution image)

Dooplaya District:

Forced Child Labor, Torture, and Destroyed Homes: The Burma Army Continues Buildup in Central Karen State

Map of report area (click on map for higher resolution image)

On 24 August, 2009, Burma Army soldiers from Infantry Battalion 32 forced one seven-year-old girl and two eight-year-old girls to porter for them. The girls are from Kwee Khaw village. Two other villagers from Kwee Khaw were forced to porter at the same time, as well as an elderly woman and two young men from Kwee Ta Pet Mu village. The day before, August 23rd, the same soldiers had captured 14 villagers from Aplone village to use as porters and arrested 3 children who were tending oxen. Later, on August 29th, these same soldiers forced eight more people from Lay Poe village to porter for them. These villages are in Win Ye Township. Burma Army IB 32 is led by Commander Khine Zaw.

On August 11, Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA, a Burma Army proxy force) Battalion 904, led by commander Kyaw Kyaw, and Burma Army Light Infantry Battalion 546 came to Mae Ka Thaw Kee village, Kawkareik Township, and arrested one villager. They found a knife and 10,000 Thai baht (about $300 US) in his bag and accused him of working for the Karen National Union; they then tortured him badly. The next day they burned down four huts and several houses in the village.

These are just examples of abuses regularly perpetrated by the Burma Army and its proxies on civilians in areas where they are attempting to consolidate their power.

Burma Army and DKBA have recently had several clashes with the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) in Dooplaya District. FBR received reports that in August and September, ten Burma Army soldiers and two DKBA soldiers were killed in the fighting.

FBR has also received reports that five DKBA soldiers defected to the Karen National Liberation Army at the end of July.

According to reliable sources, the DKBA is continuing to be supplied by the Burma Army as it continues fighting the KNLA. A build-up of Burma Army and DKBA forces around Win Ye Township and near the Three Pagodas Pass area, opposite Sangkhlaburi in Thailand, has been reported in recent weeks.

Villagers in this district continue to face extortion and forced conscription.