Burma Army and Proxy Army Send IDP’s Running in Hpa-An district, Karen State

September 19, 2016, Karen State, Burma

4,000 ethnic Karen were sent running from their homes by a sudden surge in violence in the Karen State.

Burma Army-proxy Border Guard Force (BGF) attacked a faction of the DKBA or the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army. The fighting occurred along a stretch of the Mae Tha Waw road, an area under control of the Burma Army, and affected civilians from the villages of Htee Klo Thaw, Gu Thaw Pu, Kyauk Taing among other settlements also close to the motorway in Hlaingbwe Township. In the wake of these clashes, the BGF in the Hpa-An district is reported to be on the move towards areas under Karen 5th Brigade for reasons unknown at this time.

Please see this May, 2016 FBR report on the factional divides in the K7 region

The Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) fled in multiple directions. 3,780 were reported to have fled to Myeing Gyi Ngu, while another 70 families fled to the Naung Taing area in Hlien Bweh township. Some NGOs have moved to Myeing Gyi Ngu to provide help for the IDPs, but there continues to be a lack of relief work in the Naung Taing area.

FBR Response

FBR continues to mobilize its teams for relief work in the K7 Hpa-An area. Karen rangers have moved to provided relief work to fill the gap in the Naung Taing area and continue to report on the situation as it develops.

God Bless you

The Free Burma Rangers