Updated November 11, 2007

On 6 November, the Burma Army repeatedly shelled rice fields in the Yeh Mu Plaw area of Muthraw District in the Northern Karen State. There are over 1,000 IDPs due to these attacks by Burma Army troops of Military Operations Command (MOC) 1 and Division 88. These two units have been attacking out of camps along the Kyauk Kyi-Hsaw Hta road beginning on 24 October and continuing through 6 November, 2007.
 
Nine villagers have been wounded and two have been killed in these attacks against villagers trying to harvest their rice. A woman and her thirteen year old daughter were captured earlier last week in this area and have been sent back to Division 88 headquarters. Their condition is unknown. The following is an update of these attacks.
The Burma Army is attacking in the Plaw Ko area north of the Thae Lo Klow river and Yeh Mu Plaw village.

The Burma Army is attempting to disrupt the harvest during this crucial time for local farmers. At present, 64 rice fields are being blocked and controlled by the Burma Army. On 3 November five rice barns were burned (belonging to Saw Dee Gay, Saw Ha Du, Saw Mu Gay, Saw Paw Tha, and Saw Shway Jo) and three paddy fields were been destroyed (belonging to Saw Hay Du, Saw Mu Gwey, and Saw Baw Tu Ha). The Burma Army is shelling the rice fields in order to keep villagers from returning to harvest. One group of soldiers from Tha Wa Jo camp entered the Yeh Mu Plaw village area but have since returned to their camp. Another group of soldiers from Plaw Ko are still in the area, but are North of the Thay Loh Klo river-this is a tributary of the Yunzalin River.

This unit is firing mortar rounds into the surrounding rice fields to keep villagers away and are patrolling the area as of this report. 10 p.m. 6 November 2007.

Backgound: These attacks are the most recent phase of an offensive that has displaced over 30,000 people and killed over 370 villagers in Northern Karen State from 2006 to present, 6 November, 2007

On 9 October, 2007, the Burma Army shot at a family in their farm hut, wounding two women, during a patrol into the Hti Blah village area of Shweygyin Township in southern Nyaunglebin District, Karen State, eastern Burma. Naw Hser Gay*, 45, and Naw Htee Hla,16, were in their farm hut with three other family members when approaching Burma Army soldiers began firing at them from close range. Three of the family members were able to escape unharmed; however two women were shot while trying to flee, and one was captured and photographed by the Burma Army soldiers after falling to the ground and injuring her knee.
 

Photo: Gunshot wound on Naw Hser Gay's hip. Oct 13
According to Naw Hser Gay, a widow who is now 45, "The Burma Army shot into our farm hut. There were five of us in the hut. Two of us, my niece and I, were wounded and all of the others escaped except for me. The Burma Army took my bag, plates, cooking pots, clothes, and they ate my chickens. After they shot me they made me sit down and then they took my photo and of the area of our farm hut. The soldier with the camera spoke to me in Karen, and then he gave my bag back to me. Another soldier came and took it away again. I asked the soldiers to help me back into my hut because I could not walk after being shot in the hip and injuring my knee when I fell to the ground. They did not help me, but left me there and took all of my belongings. This happened at about 8 am. At about 3 pm Karen soldiers came by and brought me to the local clinic."

Photo: Naw Htee Hla, 16, shot in the arm by the Burma Army. Oct 14
 
Naw Htee Hla, 16, said, "The Burma Army shot and wounded my in my right arm while I was hiding under my farm hut. After I had been shot I got up and ran. It happened at about 8 o'clock in the morning."
Saw Eh Wah, 14, son of Naw Hser Gay, said, "Because the Burma Army came to attack my village, I can no longer go to school. My school was closed and now I have to go to another school to study. I will have to stay like this the whole year and not be able to go to my village's school."
The father of Naw Htee Hla, Saw Poh Doh, 40, said, "The Burma Army came and shot into our farm hut at about 8 am on the 9th of October. We all ran, but my cousin was caught. All five of us ran in different directions and we didn't see each other until we reached the hiding place. After the Burma Army shot at us they took all of my belongings and killed and ate my pig, took my rice, and destroyed whatever they did not take. Everyone is hiding, and the school is stopped and the students cannot see their teacher."
The attack was conducted by Burma Army LIB 217 under battalion commander Tha Htay Aung. The Burma Army has continually been patrolling the hills of western Nyaunglebin District since the beginning of 2006. Their policy of shooting villagers on sight, stealing property, destroying homes and food stores, and laying landmines is designed to terrorize the population and make life impossible for villagers.
* All names have been changed
Mon Township: Village Attacked and Burned Down
On 13 October, 2007, Burma Army troops attacked and mortared Yaw Kee village. They then entered the village, burning down 10 houses and one church. Nineteen families lived in Yaw Kee village, and a total of 120 people fled into the jungle. Villagers did not have time to collect rice from their storage places. The Burma Army looted the village and also placed many landmines in the village. Those in hiding do not dare return to the village to look for whatever belongings may be left for fear of landmines and because the Burma Army continues to patrol and mortar the area on a regular basis. Yaw Kee (lat/long. N 18 42 33 E 096 54 40) is in Mon Township, Nyaunglebin District, western Karen State, eastern Burma.

Photo: Burma Army soldiers moving in Mon Township. Sept 2007.
 

Photo: Burma Army soldiers on the move in Mon Township. Sept 2007.
After attacking the village, the Burma Army went back to their camp at Law Ka Koh. This camp is a small peripheral camp from Busakee Camp in southern Toungoo District.
On 6 October, Burma Army Operations Commander Khin Maung Oo ordered everyone from the villages of Kgo Pu, Hsaw Mi Lu, and Tha Bo to stay in their villages. Troops from LIB 351 then patrolled the surrounding area, laying landmines to restrict the movement of villagers between the plains and mountains.
On the same day Burma Army LIB 378 and 379 from Porosoe army camp mortared and machine-gunned a group of villagers on the way to collect rice for their families who are now in hiding
.
Background:
This latest attack is a continuation of the Burma Army's violent campaign to force villagers into hiding or relocation sites in northern Karen State, Eastern Burma. In the last five months, more than 6,000 people have fled direct attacks, and hundreds more have fled forced labor, forced relocation, and lack of food.
The Burma Army's strategy includes continuous attacks and patrols, a shoot-on-sight policy, destruction of property, forced labor and the severe restriction of villager activity in areas under its control. The situation remains very difficult for most villagers in the mountains, many of whom have been hiding in the jungle for more than a year. Both villagers who wish to stay and those bringing humanitarian assistance are finding it more and more difficult to do so as a result of the expanding network of roads and army camps throughout northern Karen State. Villagers who live in the plains are finding it difficult to survive because of Burma Army extortion, restriction on movement, and numerous demands for forced labor.
These attacks and displacements are part of a larger pattern of displacement in the Karen State. In northern Karen State alone, more than 30,000 people have been displaced by attacks since February of 2006.

On Burma Army troops executed FBR relief team member Saw Lee Reh Kyaw. Lee Reh was captured while providing humanitarian assistance to Karenni villagers. Patrolling Burma Army troops opened fire and attacked the village of Ha Lee Ku. One pro-democracy Karenni soldier was shot and killed immediately, while Lee Reh was shot in the leg and badly wounded. The Burma Army soldiers took him to their headquarters, interrogated him, tortured him and then shot and killed him.

The Burma Army also arrested the headman and secretary of the village. Their current whereabouts are unknown. Ha Lee Ku Village, comprising 35-40 families, is approximately 27 miles from Htee Maw Soe Burma Army camp and is subjected to patrols by the Burma Army about once a month.

Lee Reh trained to be a FBR relief team member in 2005 and was in the village to provide medical treatment and to gather information about the abuses the villagers regularly suffer at the hands of the Burma Army. He was a wonderful man who smiled at everything and was one of the outstanding graduates of the FBR program. He is missed by us all and we will do our best to care for his family. He was killed doing what he believed in; bringing help to people under oppression.

On 28 April, 2007, the Burma Army burned down 7 homes and 19 field houses in the village of Kay Pu (Lat/Long: N 18 36 50 E 097 03 00), in northern Papun District. The entire village of more than 400 people had already fled in late April after Burma Army LIBs 505 and 507 burned down 4 villages located close by (See Report: April 26, 2007).

According to relief teams in the Kay Pu area, more than 4,000 people have now fled these attacks and are in hiding. The Burma Army has remained in the area, continuing to patrol and sweep for villagers. On 30 April, the Burma Army fired 12 mortars into Kay Pu Village and suspected hiding places nearby.

Road Construction: This most recent attack appears to be tied closely with the Burma Army's road construction plans Northern Karen State. These villages lie directly in the path of a new road the Burma Army is constructing which is intended to connect Toungoo District and Papun District. On 3 May, a Burma Army bulldozer arrived in Kay Pu village moving from southeast to northwest. Another bulldozer arrived in the village of Si Day, moving northwest to southeast from the Burma Army's camp at Busakee. Kay Pu and Si Day are separated by a distance of only 7 miles.
 
Context: The five villages recently burned all fled during 2006 when the Burma Army conducted the largest offensive against civilians in northern Karen State since 1997. Many villagers in Papun District were able to return to their villages when Burma Army troops pulled back into their camps. Villagers are now preparing their fields for the planting season, and people are worried that continued Burma Army attacks will make it impossible to grow crops. These new 1-3 battalion-sized attacks have not yet developed into the same large-scale attacks launched last year, but are part of the Burma Army's ongoing effort to control, chase away or brutalize civilians in Northern Karen State.

On 4 April, 2007, the Burma Army, based at Muthey, launched an attack on Keh Der Village Tract in Kyauk Kyi Township. The troops entered Keh Der Village, shooting and killing Saw Wee Ti, a 28-year-old villager. More than 900 villagers fled this attack and are now in hiding in the Keh Der area. Keh Der Village is located about 3 hours walk south of Muthey.
Relief teams are in the field now in this area, and this report will be updated as new information comes in.
With this latest attack the number of newly displaced people since the beginning of March has risen to more than 2,000. It was approximately one year ago, in February and March of 2006, that the Burma Army began the largest offensive against civilians in Karen State in more than a decade, killing more than 80 villagers, displacing more than 25,000, and constructing more than 33 new army camps. Since the beginning of 2007, the Burma Army has rotated all of its troops, has heavily re-supplied all of its camps, and has continued major work on the roads used to supply these camps.
While the offensive has slowed, the Burma Army has continued to pressure the people of northern Karen State with frequent patrols and small-scale attacks. At this time, the Burma Army has shifted its focus from an all-out offensive, to consolidating control over newly-gained territory, attacking IDP sites and villages to keep the population off balance, and to force them to leave or move to Burma Army controlled relocation sites. It has also increased efforts to block all movement of people and supplies between the plains and the mountains. The attacks which displaced 1,400 people last week are the most recent example of this.
Burma Army Shifts Tactics
The Burma Army Southern Command has now assumed direct control over all units in the field, bypassing the Military Operations Command (MOC) and Divisional level commands (these commanders are still in the field with their Headquarters elements, but do not control their forward deployed battalions). The Southern Command now has six divisional size units in the area of offensive in northern Karen State. These units are broken down into Tactical Operations Commands (TOCs) of three battalions each. There are three TOCs per divisional size unit. Each TOC is directly controlled by Southern Command, which has also mixed together the TOCs of different Divisions and MOCs in the same area of responsibility. The TOCs are also being rotated to different places within the operational area every one to two months, instead of staying in one area for the entire deployment.
These two new tactics of 1: direct control of all operation units by Southern Command and 2: rotation of troops and areas of responsibility demonstrate a more centralized control and the development of a new plan of action by the Burma Army. It is not clear whether this new plan means another more closely coordinated offensive, or a strategy of a more closely coordinated effort to cut all support to the Karen population and pressure them to either flee or submit to Burma Army control.
Comment: In the past, when different Divisions and MOCs operated more independently, there was a high degree of corruption and also space for certain understandings between the Burma Army and the local population. There is a concern now that with the centralized control there will be less opportunity for negotiation at the ground level, and a stronger and more concerted effort to control and dominate the population.

In the Maw Pu area alone, 1,700 prisoners continue to be forced to porter loads. More than 265 have been reported to have died, many who were executed. Among the porters in Papun District, there are over 20 child porters (boys under 16 years old from Insein Prison). The Burma Army is now using the term, “transporter”-“Woon Htan”, instead of “prisoner porter” to describe the people they force to carry their loads.

Nyaunglebyn District: of the over 400 porters used in this area, over 20 have died.

Papun District: Of the over 700 porters used in this area, 150 porters died- by torture, by execution and by sickness (dysentery is the most sited).

Toungoo District: Of the over 600 prisoner porters (not counted is the over 850 villagers used in this area to carry loads for the Burma Army), 95 were killed. Total: 1,700 porters, 265 dead.

Seventy-six men, women and children have also been killed, and 25,000 displaced in this area alone in the past year. We are grateful to all of you who stand with all the oppressed of Burma.

Looking Back: For the Christian Karen, Christmas was a sacred time. It started on 1 December with what they call, “Sweet December” and is the beginning of the Christmas season. According to one Karen elder, 76-year-old Maw La of Muthraw District, the Karen celebrate Christmas because, ”Christ came and purchased us; heart and mind, and so saved us.

We celebrate Christmas for the same reason as other Christians all over the world.”

For the non-Christians, Christmas is also a special time of fellowship and rest after harvest and occurs near the beginning of the Karen New Year. As one Karen man, Saw Htoo Naw said, “For the Christian Karen, Christmas is specially observed. For the non-Christians it is also important as it coincides with harvest and the Karen New Year. It is a traditional time of celebration, meeting together and rest for all the Karen.”

Here in the Northern Karen State where the Burma Army continues the attacks that have already killed 76 civilians and displaced over 25,000 people, the Karen celebrate Christmas. We were invited to celebrate Sweet December in Mon Township in a makeshift church with people who had been on the run for almost all of 2006. They sang together and prayed earnestly- thanking God for the gift of Jesus and for hope in this life and the next. Later as we went to visit displaced people on the border of Toungoo and Papun districts, groups of carolers from the surrounding area came to sing. Only three days later this place was attacked by the Burma Army and the people fled again. Still they continue to organize caroling groups and to conduct worship services.

“Even when we are scattered in the jungle, we still sing songs in Karen like, ‘We wish you a merry Christmas’, and songs to celebrate Christ’s coming. The non-Christians also join in and we celebrate together, in the jungle, in the fields, in the hiding places, anywhere.” Poo Taw Mae, a Karen area leader.

Back in a more stable area (last burned down in 1997) the churches have been rebuilt and at one service over 500 people gathered for a Christmas service.” While Christmas day is observed on the 25th, it is also celebrated on other days in December, as villagers choose a central village each year to have a joint Christmas festival. No matter what is happening, the Karen choose to make Christmas a time of sharing of remembrance and of celebration. As a Karenni relief team leader helping the Karen said, ”Even in a difficult time, the people celebrate because we remember our savior. It doesn’t matter what situation we are in, we still celebrate Christ’s coming. I have never heard anyone complaining about Christmas. The people are never tired of being thankful to God and look forward to Christmas each year. A foreigner who is a mother of three and who is here as part of the Good Life Club team, said, “ The Karen people always seem to be thankful, this is great lesson for me. “ For all of us here they shine the light of God’s love and this has not been put out. We thank all of you who stand with these people and all the people of Burma. God bless you and Merry Christmas,

A relief team leader
Northern Karen State
Christmas 2006

Earlier FBR REPORT: Karen State Update Report

Forced Labor and Threat of Death in Toungoo District, Northwestern Karen State
On 17 Nov. 2006, division 66 commander Maung Maung Aye ordered a meeting in the village of Kler La (Baw Ga Li Gyi), Toungoo District, northwestern Karen State. In the meeting, Maung Maung Aye announced that the Burma Army would be bringing a bulldozer into the area to improve the car road from Kler La to Bu Sa Kee. During the meeting he forced every adult villager from 12 nearby villages to sign a document stating that nothing would happen to impede the movement of the bulldozer. The villagers were warned that if anything happens to the bulldozer, they would be killed. The villagers were then forced to begin clearing the road to prepare the way for the bulldozer.


Burma Army captures and murders villagers in Mon Township, Nyaunglebin District


On 14 Nov. 2006 the Burma Army captured three villagers from Myaung Oo village. One of these villagers, Naw Ma Than Da, 30, was captured, but the Burma Army was unable to find her husband, K*** *** ****. They captured and killed Tin Aye,34, from Paw Pi Dor village and captured five others on the same day: The villagers names are Na Zaw, Htay Min Lat, Moe Zaw, Myint Shwe Lay, and Tue Tu. They also captured one villager from Aung Chang Tha village, named Kan Myint.


On 23 Oct. 2006, the Burma Army killed Hla Shwe, from Sin Sae village. 5 days later, on the 28th, they killed another Sin Sae villager named Win Myaing, 45 years old. At this time one villager named Saw Jet, from Hsaw Wah Der was also captured. All villagers who were captured were sent to the Burma Army camp at Maladaw.


On 25 Oct. 2006, Burma Army LIB 73, under the Southern Command entered Ma La Gone village and killed two villagers as they rested in their farm hut. The villagers were Saw Maung Maung Tha, 40, and his son Saw Kyo Kyo Tha, 16.


On 30 Oct. 2006, Burma Army LIB 11, in TOC 661 under Division 66, arbitrarily executed Saw Pyer Htoo, from Kaw Thay Der village.

Troops from Burma Army Division 66 shot and killed a 75 year old man, Poo Thu Kee Dee, at Ler Kla Der village. The entire village had already fled in the face of the advancing Burma army, but this man wanted to stay, and told the others, “Even if they see me, I am old, so they will not shoot me.” On 5 September the Burma Army found him in a beetle nut grove on the edge of the village and shot him to death. (Photo: Burma army soldiers).

* The Burma Army has now increased the number of troops by one division as the assault against the Karen people continues.

* Over 20,000 people are displaced in the Northern Karen State of Burma and civilians like the 75 old man who was killed are targets.

* Nyaunglebin and Papun Districts Report Report Summary: The Burma Army has now introduced a new infantry Division (Division 44) into the offensive against people of Northern Karen State. With the addition of this division, there are now three Divisions and four Military Operation Commands (MOC) operating in this area. Combined with troops from the Southern Command there now are between 60 and 70 battalions involved in the attacks on Karen villages and the hiding places of displaced people in the area of Toungoo, Nyaunglebin and Northern Papun (Muthraw) Districts.

Two relief team leaders are relaying this report from the field. One from Toungoo District who just led 30 more people to relative safety and another from Nyaunglebin District who is coordinating the actions of three FBR relief teams there. The photos were taken by a two different FBR relief teams in Toungoo District and they show people fleeing as well as troops of Division 66 entering Kaw They Der (Ye Tho Gyi) village enroute to attack the Karen.

Division 66, MOC 15, MOC 16 and troops from the Southern Command are engaged in attacking the civilian population in Toungoo district. Since February, there have been over 100 engagements between the Burma Army and the Karen resistance (KNLA) who are trying to protect the villagers since February 2006. In September there have been 15 contacts and two Karen soldiers were killed in action. There have been over 400 Burma Army casualties

8 September: Two villagers were killed at See Pwe Go Village (near Shazibo) by soldiers from Burma Army IB 73, ( Southern Command troops under commander Aung Ka). This family was captured on a sweep into their village by the Burma army. They had gathered to celebrate thanksgiving. They were taken to a nearby Army camp and the father and one son killed and then the family was released.

Burma Army Division 66: The Burma Army is resupplying its camps and front line troops at an unusually high rate. There has been no letup of resupply in the rains. As vehicles cannot be used, hundreds of porters have been forced to carry the Army’s supplies. The people forced to carry loads are from two general groups; prisoners brought in from other areas of Burma as well as local Karen villagers who live in areas under Burma Army occupation. (This extraordinary resupply effort in the rainy season demonstrates a very high level priority on this offensive. All the field commanders involved, from the MOC level and up have been to regular meeting with the Burma Army supreme command throughout this offensive). DIV 66 is also patrolling and is reported to have an order to shoot on sight any villager they find in the areas that they attack.

New Camps built in support of this offensive:
Division 66 is building a new camp and actively patrolling the areas along the Toungoo- Busakee and Mawchi roads. There is a new camp being built at See Day village east of the camp at Busakee. This camp is part of the strategic plan to cut off Toungoo District from the rest of Karen State. This new camp combined with two new camps in Northern Papun District and the camps along the Kauk Kyi- Hsaw Hta road make a complete circle around Toungoo District. They also split Nyaunglebin and Papun districts into quarters. This is a very dangerous situation for the remaining villagers and IDPS who fear an even large series of attacks once the rains stop.

MOC 16 is operating out of Play Sah Loh camp, in Southern Tantabin Township, Toungoo District.

MOC 15: MOC 15, which was leading attacks in the Northern part of Papun district, has shifted one Tactical Operations Command of four battalions to P’Lay Wah camp on the Toungoo road. The are now reported to be moving towards Busakee.

Due to these attacks the following 19 villages are newly abandoned:
Klaw Mee Der, Ku Moo Der, Ler Klu Der, Kay Der, Kaw Po Lo, Mwee Lo, Tha Pa Kee, Yeh Lo, Lay Gwo Doh, Po Mu Der, Saw Wah Daw Ko, Wa Mee Per Ko, Hee Daw Kaw, Wa So, Sho Zur, Klay Kee, Ho Ki, Bu Kee and Ler Kee.
There are 20,000 Displaced persons from Toungoo, Nyaunglebin and Papun Districts: 15,000+ in hiding, 2,000 in the plains, 1,401 in Ei Tu Hta IDP site and over 3,700 in refugee camps.

Ethnic Cleansing:
20-30 Burman families have moved to the Busakee and Naw Soe area. There were none there before. They were told by the Burma Army to go this are of Toungoo district where the Burma Army was clearing out Karen villagers.

The Burma Army promised 20,000 Kyat per month pay for each family to move there. So far, they have been paid nothing.

Two families and two single men escaped to the Saw Wa Der area. They were promised they would be sent to Baw Ga Li Gyi (Kler Lah) but instead were sent to Naw Soe (Busakee) the first time.

They were all from Buda Gyi* (a section of Toungoo Town) area, Section #18. They said the families who came were shopkeepers, carpenters, and loggers. The Burma Army came to them and promised to build a new village. “If you go, you will get 20,000 Kyat per month, can grow durian, cardamom, and augment your income,” they were told.

They agreed and were sent to Naw Soe camp on the Kler La- Busakee road (east of Toungoo and in the heart of Toungoo District). At Naw Soe, they were forced to work on the Burma Army camp with no pay and told “don’t think about money or escape, you have to stay”.

They escaped three times and now are with the Karen resistance(KNU). They are now being cared for by the KNU.

 Nyaunglebin and Papun Districts: The attacks continue in Nyaunglebin District especially on the border of Mon and Kyayk Kyi Townships. The Burma Army troops operating here are Division 44 (newly arrived), 1 TOC of MOC 15, and MOC 21. In Papun District the main forces are MOC 10 and troops from Division 101. The main attacks in this area are occurring in Northern Papun district and are being launched out of two new camps in the Naw Yo Hta-Kay Pu area along the Yunzalin river.
Villager Killed by Burma Army:
12 September in They Baw Der a villager was shot and killed by the Burma Army. His name was Saw Nay Twey, and he was 48 years old. The Burma Army units in the area are MOC 15 (Mon/Lerdoh), LIB 522, and IB 241.

Burma Army reinforced in Mon Township
On 15 September Burma Army LIB 590 began building a new camp in Mon Township. Division 44 has been brought in to reinforce MOC 10 in their attacks against the villagers and IDPs. In addition, MOC 16 is operating in both Northern Nyaunglebin and southern Toungoo districts. MOC16 commander Zay Oo May, arrived back from a meeting in Pyinmana (new capitol) and has a plan to set up more camps in the Ko Wa Ko and Ka Pa Hta areas .

IDPs Flee
On 28 September, IDPs fled Burma Army attacks from the villages of Saw Ka Der, Kwi Dee Kaw and Keh To Der.

From 28-29 September, the Burma Army sent food from Shweygyn to Kushaw camp on the Nyaunglebin- Papun border. MOC 21 has sent troops into the Ya Aung area north of Shweygyn town.

On 29 September, the KNLA and Burma Army had one clash.
Villager Shot by Burma Army

On 30 September, the KNLA and Burma Army fought 4 times. During one of these clashes, the Burma Army shot one villager at Ger Wah Ko. His name was Saw Tu Tu and there are

No other details about him at this time, including whether he is alive or not.
Burma Army troops continue patrolling in the area of Ger Wah Ko, Tay Taw Ki and To Da Ko.
Religious persecution
In the Maladaw of Mon Township, Christian worship services have been banned.

According to a relief team now working in northern Karen State, the Burma Army has attacked and burned two villages in Toungoo District since the beginning of September. LIB 567, which is in Military Operations Command (MOC) 16, attacked and burned down the villages of Kaw Po Lo and Per Daw Kho. This attack is part of an ongoing offensive in Northern Karen state that began in February 2006, and has continued throughout the monsoon season, displacing over 20,000 people*. MOC 16 battalions continue to patrol and seek out Internally Displaced People (IDPs) who are hiding throughout the southern part of Toungoo District and Mon Township, northern Nyaunglebin District, Karen State. Some of these battalions are operating out of Tha Bin Yut army camp. Div. 66 is operating in this area of Toungoo district as well, and is based at Play Hsa Lo army camp (N 18 45 30 E 096 45 00).

MOC 15 battalions are also operating in the area, especially along the Toungoo—Busakee road. IB 15, also based along this road is currently overseeing rations and re-supplies to be sent from Kler La (Bawgalygyii) towards Busakee.

When asked about the situation of Naw Bey Bey, a medic who was captured and abused by the Burma Army and then sentenced to 8 years in prison, the relief team leader responded that her exact situation was unknown, but that she remained jailed in a Toungoo prison. It was reported earlier by IDPs from western Toungoo District that Naw Bey Bey had been taken out of prison, raped, and forced to be a medic while accompanying a Burma Army battalion operation. She was then returned to prison after the battalion's operation was completed.

In the midst of bad news of Burma Army atrocities and stories we are hearing daily here of rapes, murders and disappearances, it is uplifting to see something good.
We met this Shan family while on a relief mission near the Salween River of Southern Shan State in 2004. They were fleeing their home village further north where they had been forced to work for the Burma Army under brutal conditions.
They also had personal problems as the father was a opium addict and the mother was addicted to amphetamines.

They told us the Burma Army gave them drugs as payment and to keep them under control. Their two little daughters were dirty and malnourished. They had been walking for days and hiding from Burma Army and Wa Army patrols as they escaped to the south. They told us they heard that the Shan State Army (the Shan pro-democracy resistance), had a protected area for displaced people like them and that the Shan State Army would help them kick their drug dependencies. They asked if we could lead them to this place. We were glad to, and put the family in the center of our column as we headed back to the safe area.

During our movement we were followed by the Burma Army and their local proxies, the Wa Army, and because of this we had to move fast. It soon became very difficult for the family even though we were already carrying their two girls and belongings. We had to give the mother an IV and were just able to get them to the safe area. They were a miserable looking family and at the worst point seemed unable to care for their children as we moved. The father and mother were mentally and emotionally weak and the years of forced labor and drug abuse had taken their toll.
Now two years later while preparing for a mission deeper inside, we met this family again. They were in the same safe area for displaced people we had brought them to.
 
There are about 800 people seeking refuge here from the oppression of the Burma Army. It is a tenuous place but relative to other places in the Shan State, it is safe for now. When we saw the family this time we were amazed. They all were healthy and strong and smiled when we met. They had been off all narcotics since they arrived here two years ago. They had a solid cabin and were farming the hills around the site. They said they were happy and had a good life. They were free, safe and could even send their daughters to the local school for displaced people. To be with them and see them strong and smiling is a wonderful answer to prayer. We wanted to pass this on to you and hope it is an encouragement to you.
Thanks to all of you, we love you all and may God bless you,
A relief team leader

Naw Bey Bey (in red, second from right) was captured by the Burma Army on her return from visiting her family. She has been sentenced to serve eight years and is now in Toungoo Prison.

Naw Bey Bey, age 22, was captured in late January 2006 by Burma Army troops in the village of Shazebo while on her way back from visiting her family in her native village of Ma La Gaung, Toungoo District, Karen State. Her mother had recently died of an illness and her father had asked her to come home to be with the family. Upon her return to Toungoo District, she was riding with a husband and wife in their oxcart when they were stopped by Burma Army soldiers. All three were captured.

This nurse is part of a group of nurses who took great risks to help their people. These photos are from Toungoo District, Northwestern Karen State, Burma.

(Photo: Saw Tha Po Aung, an 80 year old Saw Wah Der villager, was forced to flee his village.

The Burma Army then captured him, stole 400,000 kyat from him, and killed him.)

Burma Army Division 66 launched a new offensive in this area of Karen State.

They have attacked villages, demanded that villagers move to forced relocation sites, and they conducted forced labor in the area surrounding Kler La (Baw Ga Li Gyi).

These photos were taken at great risk by an FBR relief team member.

(Photo: Villagers from Klay Saw Kee being forced to cut down trees for the Burma Army in mid April.)

Often, villagers are forced to perform manual labor for the Burmese Army. Nobody is spared. Those who resist, or who are found outside the village, are likely to be shot.

The Free Burma Rangers are doing everything they can to ease the suffering of these villagers. They enter Burma overland, in the night, and walk great distances with supplies and medical equipment.

Some Free Burma Rangers have been killed, the victims of Army rifle fire or the victims of land mines.

(Photo: IDPs fleeing from Daw Pa Ko on April 15 ’06. Villagers also fled from The Yae Yu village in mid April and Saw Wah Der village in mid May.)

When we were working as volunteers at the Kwai River Hospital in western Thailand, we met the leader of the Free Burma Rangers, a former U.S. Army Ranger highly skilled in jungle survival and warfare.

(Photo: Burma Army soldiers in Kaw They Der village. The Burma Army here has forced villagers to obtain travel passes to leave the village, or face being shot if seen outside of the village.)

The FBR Ranger we have come to greatly admire, and who we will not name for his own safety, risks his life daily to help the villagers under constant attack in Burma by their own Army. Some minority groups in the country have been spared, having agreed to manufacture illegal narcotics. They go into the world market. The profits go to the Burma Army thugs.

In its ongoing violation of human rights, the Burma Army forced 850 villagers from Kaw They Der Village area to carry military supplies from Kaw They Der Village to Naw Soe Burma Army camp. This is in support of a planned attack into eastern Toungoo District and northwestern Muthraw District. The villagers were forced to carry the supplies starting on May 25, 2006, by Burma Army Division 66. The attacks in Toungoo District (which started in February 2006) have displaced over 5,000 people.

Those in hiding have approximately a two month supply of rice remaining and live in constant fear of discovery and attack by the Burma Army.

These two children, Naw Mu K’Pru, 9 yrs., and Saw La K’Paw Mu, 6 yrs., escaped from a Burma Army “Byaung Shin” special battalion that tried to capture them from their school in Toungoo. Beginning on 13 May, this battalion has attempted to capture Karen children who go to school in Burma Army controlled areas, whose parents live in the hills east of Toungoo. 

These children arrived at an IDP hiding site on 17 May after being escorted by KNLA soldiers for four days back to the area of their village. Many of the children from the city have been trying to return to their families because of the threat of being captured, but as of 25 May, only these two children and one other girl have returned home. It is believed that many of the other children have already been captured.
 

Update of Burma Army attacks in Muthraw District, Northern Karen State, Burma. 27 May, 2006. The first set of recent attacks in this area was reported in mid-April, 2006. Both sets of attacks forced more than 3,000 villagers into hiding. As of 27 May, 2006, many villagers have returned to their homes and some are still in hiding. Of the more than 3,000 villagers who fled to the jungle during these attacks, at least 200 are currently still in hiding.

This is a photograph of Saw Mu, Mr. Happy, who was killed on May 5, 2006 after he stepped on a Burma Army landmine.

He was the Karen Muthraw District FBR team video man and Good Life Club counselor for children. Thank you so much for your messages of love and support. You have encouraged us very much here and we all are lifted up by the honor you have shown Saw Mu.

The following is a report from another Free Burma Ranger risking his life to save innocent villagers from the ravages of the Burma Army.

I am sending this from in the mountains, where we are with 300 of the 2,000 displaced people in this immediate area. The others are hiding in groups of 200-400 people. Yesterday it rained hard into the night and today it is still raining. The team here helped to carry children and some of the peoples' possessions to this site from the other side of the mountain as they were exhausted from days on the run.

Yesterday was a wet miserable day for the families as they were trudging up steep trails and slipping down narrow ravines carrying their possessions and their children. One man, burdened with a tremendous load, with his wife who was carrying a large basket on her back and baby on her front in front, and watching his 5 or 6 year old daughter slip and slide down rocks and mud, exclaimed, "This rain and the Burma Army are both too bad for us, it is ridiculous". A woman replied, " Yes, they are both out to crush us".

When they arrived at the place where it was thought to be safer, there was no time to build shelters. People huddled together in the driving rain under pieces of plastic or banana leafs. Some of the babies began to cry. To see mothers soaked and shivering as they kept a small piece of plastic over their babies, made us all feel sorry. We also felt angry at the dictator's Army and the their government. About the only good thing about this rain from our perspective, was that it is also causing problems for the pursuing Burma Army forces. They had evidently lost the way, became confused and one the soldiers stepped on their own land mine they had laid for the villagers. The rains have disrupted their supply lines and sapped their morale.

Here in the hiding place morale was amazingly good and people laughed and shouted at each across the swollen stream-"...Hey what's wrong with your shelter?..." Can you give me some plastic..No can YOU give me some?..", and both then laugh as nether has any plastic to give or take.

Today during a break in the rain, the Karen people were up and making shelters from leaves and bamboo. They were smiling and talking and offering us food. They have barley enough rice to eat themselves and little else to go with it but every family we talked to offered us a meal. As I made this report a group of children gathered around and laughed as they saw pictures of themselves that we were sending out to you all. As we huddled under the same plastic when the rains came again, a mother came into our shelter carrying a newborn baby- three weeks old. She said she had given birth and then had to run for her life 5 days after giving birth. She looked at me and smiled. She was glad to be alive.

Now it continues to rain but in the middle of the rain a small group of people gathered to pray. They told us, "We have trouble but we can pray, God helps us".

(Photo: A young Karen man has been forced to porter for the Burma Army, the army trying to kill his family and destroy his village.)

Here as in all the areas of Nyunaglebin, Toungoo and Muthraw districts, all
of which are hit by this offensive, the immediate needs are for security, food and shelter.

The people in hiding and on the move need plastic sheeting in for shelters, flashlights (as they now have to often move at night to evade the patrols), more medicine, and money to buy rice, hammocks and clothes.

In terms of sustaining relief there is also a need here for better communications equipment, mules and horses to carry relief supplies and cash for transportation and communications.

Thank you and God bless you,
A relief team leader

This is another update from a member of the Free Burma Rangers who is risking his life to report the horror of Burma Army assaults on innocent villagers.

Yesterday, on 10 April, we talked to a 28 year old Karen woman (Naw Bee Ko) who's husband was shot and killed and her nine year old daughter wounded by the Burma Army. The family was fleeing from the Burma Army when the soldiers found them. The husband was carrying his 80 year old mother on his back when the Burma Army opened fire. She fell off his back and cried for him to come back and help her. When he turned to help her, they were both shot dead. In a hail of bullets, the wife gathered her three daughters (age 4 to 9 years old) and ran carrying her 8 month baby boy. The Burma Army continued to shoot, hitting the 9 year old girl on the side of her back, with the bullet exiting near her stomach. The family kept running and escaped.

We met them on our way to their area yesterday. We treated the wounded girl. Fortunately, the bullet had passed from her back out through her side with out hitting any organs and she is healing. During their escape, the girl's wounds were treated by another family and due to their care there is no infection.We prayed for the girl and her family and they cried and cried for their father (husband), and grandmother.

As I looked at the crying mother and little girls, I saw that the baby boy was the only one not crying. 'That could be my family', I thought.

I have two girls ages 3 and 5, and a boy, six months old. If I was killed, my wife and little girls would cry but my little boy would know nothing . I thought I would want someone to help my wife and kids. We told them we could not fix their problem but that we would help them as best as we could. We re-dressed the wounds of the girl, Naw Eh Ywa Paw or "The Flower that Loves God". We gave her mother some money and we reminded her that she was not alone.

Other villagers who fled are helping her now, the resistance (Karen National Union) was helping her, we would do our best and people around the world would pray for her. I then prayed and thought about how I could help her in a tangible way. I remembered meeting a 23 year old pregnant Karenni woman who's husband was beat to death by the Burma Army after they burned her village. Our relief team arrived at the destroyed village six days later. The people came out of their hiding places in a ravine nearby and I talked with the woman who's husband was killed. He had gone back to the village after the Burma Soldiers burned it down, thinking they were gone and hoping to find some of his livestock. Burma Army soldiers were hiding nearby and shot him in the leg. He tied to run but was caught and then beaten with rifle butts until unconscious. The soldiers then shot him six times in the back, killing him.

As his pregnant wife told me this story her three small children clung to her sarong and tears ran down her face. She kept asking me, "What will become of my children". I realized that she had no time to mourn her husband. With him dead and her house destroyed, no food and now in hiding, who would feed her and her children? What would happen to the baby that would come in a month? With every one in the village in the same situation, who could help her?" I thought back to that and then decided I would try to at least give this new widow in front of me now something tangible to ease her worry. (This in fact is the second time she is a widow.

Her first husband was also killed by the Burma Army. She had recently married his brother and now he too was dead). I wanted to do something, no matter how small. So I told her not to worry about her children or their future. I committed myself and my family to helping her family until her children were grown. I know there are many who have lost family members and she is not the first we have met. But as I prayed for her and her family, I thought and asked God if this should be an offer I should make. I thought it was good and felt no hesitation. So now we are committed to her.

I told her I would tell my wife about this and I hoped one day I could bring my family and meet her. I told her that we were not rich and have no power. We can not solve the problem of her husband's death and we not could save her. But we would stand with her whether she tried to stay here in the Karen State or go to a refugee camp. She smiled and softly said, "Thank you." After we treated the little girl, Naw Eh Ywa Paw, she began to smile and lost her shyness with us. She was still smiling when we moved on to continue the relief mission. We prayed with this family and then we continued our mission, walking further west toward the place the family had run from.

The following is an April 2006 report from a Free Burma Ranger doctor in a secret location in Burma. The photos below were secreted out of Burma via satellite phone.

We just completed a relief mission to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Toungoo District, Karen State. In addition to the reports and photographs we have been sending, I wanted to add this message. I want to write what is on my heart, what I have seen with my eyes and felt with my hands. We try our best to be objective when we send our reports from here in the field and we also want to make sure the human element is apparent. Bad things are being done to fellow human beings now and oppression and attacks continue. In spite of this, these people still try to survive and hold on to faith, love and hope.

The Burma Army continues its campaign of oppression in this area; attacking villages, murdering people, forcing people to carry loads and labor for them, and building roads. Because of attacks by the Burma Army, Toungoo District has over 20,000 IDPs.

While our team was in Toungoo District in January 2005, we heard that 440 villagers were in hiding following an attack by the Burma Army on 26 December 2004. We had brought with us medical supplies, clothes, educational and school supplies, bibles and hymnals for people who asked for them, toys for children and clothes.

It was night when our team walked into the place where the villagers-now IDPs- were hiding, and the first thing we noticed was about 50 people standing in a small clearing under the night sky. Some had candles; some had lit pine pitch and were holding them up so they could see. When we walked in there was silence at first and then when we said "Na La Gwey" ("Good Night"), they suddenly surged forward smiling, laughing, and grabbing our hands. They kept saying "Da Blu, Da Blu" ("Thank you, Thank you"), and "Thank you for coming". It was wonderful to be so loved and welcomed but at the same time I felt sad and worried. Did they think we could save them? Did they think we were the beginning of a good change in Burma? We could not save them and as for change, we can only hope that we are a small part of that positive change.

I felt compassion and a love for these people. I wanted to help them, protect them, and make sure they could go home. In reality all we could do was love them, remind them they were not forgotten, give them temporary relief and tell their story. We could shine a light, however small into their situation. That night the team went and visited with some of the IDPs sleeping close to us. None had real shelter; most of the families just lay on the ground sharing blankets. Some slept under trees with a lean-to of leaves over them. The scene looked very desperate and pathetic. Fathers and mothers had been stripped of their ability to take care of their children in a safe home. The elderly sat around small fires, trying to stay warm. The next morning we set up a medical and dental clinic and distributed relief supplies and clothes. I began to take pictures and as soon as I did, parents came up and thrust their children up to me. They wanted me to take their pictures and they had a real urgency about them. It was as if their children would not count if their picture was not taken. I kept taking pictures.

The team treated patients and conducted surgery on one man who had been badly beaten by the Burma Army. As the day went on the IDPs became happier and happier and we all began to feel a closer relationship. Everyone sleeping together and eating together meant there were no barriers, physical or mental

We talked with two villagers who had lost their legs to Burma Army landmines and to a 13-year-old boy, who had been shot in the arm by the Burma Army when he was 5 years old. His arm was still badly scared. We talked with the father of one of the two men the Burma Army had captured and killed when they attacked the village in December 2004. We also met the sister of the other man taken at the same time. She said she misses her brother but heard that he is dead and is very sad. She is married to a man who has two bullet wounds from an earlier SPDC attack that left two of his friends dead. He smiled at me and said, "I am a farmer, this is our land, and we have to try".

One of the things that struck me most was the positive attitude of the people and their resiliency. They smiled, joked and tried to give us food they had been saving. The local medics were also amazing. This was a group of five young Karen women who traveled with us while we were in Toungoo District. They were all in their early twenties, pretty and full of energy. We had to walk over many mountains (the mountains in Toungoo District go over 8,000' and valleys down to 1,000') and these ladies did this in rubber slippers. It was cold every night and they all huddled together in one group, sharing blankets and living no better than the IDPs. While moving, we were often very close to SPDC outposts and patrols and one morning I asked the nurses if they were afraid of the Burma Army. "Yes, we are very afraid", they answered. "But we want to help our people, we want to help our Karen Nation, so we try". They smiled and said they were happy to have this chance to serve.

These women inspired us and their presence brought a real peace to the IDPs. Everywhere we went it was the same, the local people were full of energy and hope and believed that one-day change would come. In the mean time they would work hard, pray and hope people in the outside world would come and help. But they told me, "We do not put our faith in the world or other nations, we have our faith in God..so we have hope". Enroute to this IDP hiding place we stopped at many other hiding places as well as villages that had been rebuilt after attacks by the Burma army. We provided relief to as many as we could and treated a total of 3,844 patients.

In spite of the close presence of the Burma Army, every village and IDP site were full of people who had not given up. They kept their belongings packed every day and were ready to flee at a moments notice, but they had hope and have not given up on their homeland. Thank you to all of you who pray and help. You are real answers to our prayers and the prayers of the people here. We always tell them that there are many who love them and enable us to help.

Thank you and God bless you,
A Free Burma Ranger
There are now over 380 newly arrived Karen displaced people in makeshift shelters on the Salween River. A new group of 150 people just managed to cross a Burma Army controlled road and arrived in a village in Northern Karen State after 2 weeks on the run.

These people fled murder, landmines, and the destruction of their villages by the Burma Army. They are the latest of over 1,000 people who are attempting to flee to the Salween River.


Three hundred people (adding to the over 80 that have been here since last week), came down just yesterday (26 March) after a long and risk filled march from Toungoo District, Northern Karen State. One baby was born last night, 26 March 2006, as the IDPs made their way from Toungoo District to the Salween River.
 
These people are part of a group of over 600 Karen who fled Burma Army attacks on their homes in February. They had to survive being chased by the Burma Army, then were blocked by other Burma Army units on their route just as they arrived close to the Salween River.

They then had to go back up to the mountains and with the help of the Karen resistance cross a road controlled, mined and patrolled by the Burma Army. Some people are still trapped on the north side of this road but these 303 were able to escape across it.

The Shock of Seeing Families and Friends in the Sun:
When we first walked up to a group of 83 who had arrived earlier, we all felt a little shocked to see them sweltering in the sun. The Salween River here only runs at about 400 ft above sea level and this time of year it is extremely hot. These were people who we knew from earlier missions and some are friends. They are all from high mountain villages where it is cool year around. To see them huddled under plastic sheets in the blazing sun, far from their villages and farms made us sad and angry.

One woman recognized us from a relief mission last year where we visited her village, and she said,"Younger brother", welcome and come here". She beckoned me to her shelter made of a bamboo frame with blue plastic sheeting thrown on top. Her young son on the bamboo floor and looked closely at us. She picked up her shoulder bag and said, "I have a book here in which I have written everything that has happened to us since the Burma Army attacked. I have kept the details everyday. I also took photos and gave the team that helped us to get here the film. " Then she smiled and said, "Welcome and it is good to see you".

By now most of the people of this group were coming close to us and were smiling. "We are so glad to see you", they said, and "We are sorry we do not have much."
Their positive attitude was inspiring and lifted us up. We talked with the people and soon some of us were playing with the kids. "What else could we do"?, I asked myself. What we are able to do seems so small compared to what the people need.
More than anything, they want to go home and live in freedom and safety. We asked ourselves, "How could we help them do that?" We want to help them go home, but with the resources we have and in the face of the power of the Burma Army how is it possible? We do not know, but we not give up trying, just as the people here have not given up. We are together in this even if we can not change the situation much.

With the help of many groups like Partners, we are bringing what relief supplies we can, focusing on medical care. Groups like the Committee For Internally Displaced Karen People (CIDKP), and the Karen Office for Relief and Development (KORD), are supplying basic food and shelter, while other groups like Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) and Back Pack Medical teams have people who focus on human rights reporting and health respectively.

Here are many different groups and individuals trying to help, but we are all small and the need is greater than what we together can meet. We are grateful to be able to work together and grateful to the Karen resistance (KNU) that is helping to find a safe temporary place for these people.
 
In addition to the people described above, who have already fled to the Salween River, there are now over 5,000 people displaced in Toungoo and Nyaunglebin Districts due to ongoing attacks by Burma Army troops of the 66th and 99th Divisions.

These attacks have intensified and now there are over 2,000 people in hiding in Toungoo District alone. These are mostly from 16 villages in the Southern part of Toungoo District, (Tantabin Township, mostly west of the Kler La/Baw Ga Lee Gyi to Busakee Road). In Nyaunglebin District there are over 3,000 people now in hiding; in Mon, Kyauk Kyi and Shwey Gyn Townships. The Burma Army is attacking in 1-4 battalion sized force and chasing people into the jungle. Homes are then looted, sometimes burned and then landmines are left behind to terrorize the population. Their purpose is to cut off the people from their lively hood, cut all support for the pro-democracy Karen resistance, and gain control over the population.

The Burma Army wants the people to be completely under their domination and acquiesce to their demands or move to relocation sites. When people refuse to leave their land, they are attacked. The use of landmines has also increased as the Burma Army tries to block all trade and travel from the mountains (where most the Karen they cannot control live), to the plains. It is the feeling of the Karen leaders here, that as the hot season progresses the attacks will increase.

NEW LAND MINES KILL VILLAGERS
This copy is not of US manufacture and the country of manufacture is not known to the people here. They know that the Burma army has been using a large quantity of these land mines since 2004. In 2005 over 500 of these copies of the M 14Karen people in Muthraw and Toungoo Districts and it was one of these landmines that took the lower leg of a 75 year old man, Htoo La, in Hee Daw Kaw village, Toungoo District. *( His photo is below and please see www.freeburmarangers.org for that report). One of these landmines was also found at the entrance to the village church after the Burma Army departed. The second and third pictures show a comparison (top and bottom views) of the M14 and the copy currently being used by the Burma Army. The copy is not as well made as M14 and is reportedly not as reliable. The main superficial differences are a longer pointing arrow and the lack of manufacturing data on bottom the copy, different type of shipping plug, poor gluing and sealing and different placement of loopholes and the Arm/Safe modes. The copy is also much more difficult to arm. Both land mines were found by the Karenni after the Burma Army had placed them near their villages. After the Burma Army attacked and burned 25 houses in Gwe Ga Per village, Karenii State, on 23 December 2005, they also placed 7 of these landmines near the village.

Since January 2006 there has been an increase of the use of these M14 copies as the Burma Army in Southern Karenni State and Northern Karen State has begun to systematically place these mines on the main trails in the mountains of these areas. For example, the villagers in the area east of Baw Ga Le Gyi (Kler Lah), Toungoo District, Karen State were given the deadline of 16 January 2006, to vacate their out lying fields and were told that the Burma Army would be conducting a sweep in this area and then placing land mines throughout the area. The use of landmines is one of the weapons that the Burma Army uses in its attempts to control the ethnic population in this area.They cause the death and maiming of many people, and spread terror among the population. In spite of this villagers and IDPs do not give up and continue to try to survive and farm their land in the face of these attacks. Many have become proficient in the finding and removal of landmines and when someone does step on a mine the villagers band together to carry that person to a mobile clinic run by the pro-democracy ethnic resistance (KNU and KNPP). Often the persons' lived is saved but the limb is lost.

Hee Daw Kaw, Northern Karen State, Burma. 11 January 2006.

PHOTO: this is Burmese Army officer Klay Soe Kee Jan. He belongs to the same unit that burned down the village of Hee Daw Kaw in Northern Karen State and laid the landmines which blew off the foot of a 75 year old Karen man in November 2005.

This photo was taken at great personal danger by the Free Burma Rangers and transmitted from the jungles of Burma to the U.S. via satellite phone. Please read the following report.

We are now at the village of Hee Daw Kaw that the Burma Army attacked and burned on 28 November 2005. We are here to further document what happened (one FBR team was here soon after the attack and that report was sent last month). We are providing a small amount of medical assistance and relief (rice, blankets, Good Life Club packs, etc).
 
(Photo: Burned village) In the midst of destruction it is amazing to see the resilience of these people. This is a beautiful village and must have been much more beautiful before half of the houses were burned down. The teams are now with the people here and they seem very encouraged and positive. We are glad we can be here with them at this time.
Two weeks ago, the Burma Army burned down a Karenni village (Gwe Ga Per), which is located two days walk north of here. Due to that attack and the patrols of the 6 battalions involved in the attack, over 1,200 Karenni people are now in hiding. A relief team is on the way there to help those people. Last night we learned the Burma Army is planning to conduct another attack somewhere in this area in the next two weeks. We can not stop the attacks, but we can share what we have and be with them in the face of the attacks. Please pray for us and especially for all of the precious people here.

Context of the Attacks. This report was sent out soon after the initial attack on Hee Daw Kaw village.
Update on the Attack: A new total of 1,900-2,000 IDPs, Nov 30, 2005. Toungoo District, Northern Karen State, Burma. November 26-30, 2005

There are now over 1,000 newly displaced people in addition to the 900 villagers who fled the attacks of Burma Army IB 75 (previously reported as IB 73) (Columns 1 and 2), for a total of between 1,900-2,000 IDPs. The Burma Army attacked Hee Daw Kaw Village, burned 30 houses and captured one villager named Sho Sar. In addition to the 900 villagers who are in hiding from this attack, there are over 1,000 newly displaced. these 1,000+ people fled from their villages and IDP hide sites further west of Hee Daw Kaw after they learned of the initial attack. 300 of the first 900 villagers are from Hee Daw Kaw, the other 600 are from the surrounding villages of Hoki, Sho Ser, Wah Soe, and Ha To Per. The new IDPs (1,000+) are from villages and IDP sites further west up to the Saw Wah Der village area, near the junction of the Mawchi-Baw Ga LI Gyi-Busakee roads, 35 kilometers west of Toungoo.

The Burma Army commenced the attack on 26 November. The villagers of Hee Daw Kaw fled at 9 a.m. on the same day, November 26, 2005. The Burma Army then burned down homes in Hee Daw Kaw (exact number not sure due to Burma Army patrols still near the village), on 28th November.

The Burma Army also used a small force of the Karenni breakaway faction Karenni National Solidarity Army (KNSA), in this attack. This pro-dictator Karenni group (KNSA), numbers 200-300 men and were formed in 2002 with the support of the Burma Army. They have been used by the Burma Army to attack the Pro-democracy Karenni resistance (KNPP), as well as IDPs in Karenni State to the east. This is the first major attack in Toungoo District of the Karen State in which the Burma Army has used the KNSA Karenni force.

“For the last month, I have been living on the fringes of two foreign worlds. One world, although quite different than my own, is at least within the grasp of my understanding ... a training camp in the jungles of Burma. The other world, dark and dangerous, is completely beyond anything I have ever experienced. In fact, I can only catch shadowy glimpses of it here.

It is a world where both evil and self-giving good abound in uncommon extremes. And I struggle to fuse the images of these two worlds. The purpose of the training camp is to teach teams of four or five people to actively counter the Burma Army ... with practical love. Where the army uses hate, forced labor, torture and rape, these teams bring medical treatment, food, blankets and hope. Most importantly, hope.

Teams consist of at least a videographer, a human rights reporter, an armed security person and a medic. One of these will be designated as the leader. One, often a pastor, serves as a counselor. After their training, the teams will use their skills to bring aid to the ethnic minorities being targeted and attacked by the Burma Army. If nothing else, they are to stand with people and bear witness to their suffering. The setting of this training camp is different enough from the hospital environment I am used to but still within my concept of reality. Mostly healthy young men and women run laps, do pushups and pull-ups. Students learn how to rappel, swim and navigate by map and compass. We are surrounded by green jungle, live in bamboo huts and bath in the river. It reminds me of a serious Boy Scout camp. But, occasionally there comes just a whisper of the other, more sinister world. Students also have to learn how to remove landmines. I help teach how to stabilize and treat war injuries .... burns, shock, chest trauma. The chilling touch fades, and I am back to the camp world again. Young people are goofing around, trying to cheat on calisthenics or get out of a class. They play a joke on a teammate. Evil feels distant. Students seem less the heroic knights of good and more like a bunch of kids in a youth group.

However, just when I start to understand the students in the framework of my own past, the worlds shift again. I hear some of their stories. One young man in his twenties has been forcibly displaced from his home over 20 times. Another young man tells of seeing the Burma Army cut off the limbs of his grandfather, put his torso in a bag and throw him into the river. One older student, more quiet than the rest, describes being tied up and beaten for three days. When the army men started beating him with a gun barrel, he says he nearly lost his mind. What he describes isn't a scene from a movie where the hero grits his teeth, kills his captors and escapes. This man fully believed he was going to die. After he was released, he couldn't see, vomited and coughed up blood, lay in bed and took three months to recover. Nor did he seek to exact his revenge afterwards. During the beatings, he had promised God he would become a pastor. Four years later he went to Bible school and fulfilled that promise. He now returns as a Free Burma Ranger with a servant's heart to care for others who are suffering similar ordeals. More than most people, this middle-aged man understands the risks he takes to bring care to his people.

Photo: The woman, an innocent villager, was the victim of a Burmese Army attack.

Nevertheless, he carries on with a quiet, humble and very courageous strength. This pastor captures the essence of what the Free Burma Rangers are trying to do here ... to light fires of hope and love in a land that has been darkened with cruelty. They do this by giving ordinary people the tools to bring practical help to victims ... Medicine, a prayer, a look of kindness in the middle of a terrifying night. It is overtly and unashamedly Christ like. To give everything of yourself, your body, your strength, your skill and even if you have nothing else to give, your presence. The one unpardonable sin here (for the ordinary person) seems to be to abandon someone who is suffering, even if only to save your own skin.

To be honest, I struggle to relate to the stories and images of this world. As a physician I have seen many patients who have suffered real pain and loss. But my experience of a world where officials of the ruling government inflict that pain on its people as a rule is really limited to the movies. In contrast to the camp world, this one feels surrealistic, one step removed from my innate sense of reality. Nevertheless, I feel it has been important for me to try to understand it. Besides knowing how to better pray for the situation and what skills I might offer as a doctor, a sympathetic understanding affects some of the fundamental ideas of my own faith. Courage and self-sacrifice in proactive acts of love are good and inspiring as they are profoundly Christ-like. Coming from a culture that seems to define goodness by the route of least suffering and the most self-fulfilling, some of these ideals are hidden, muted, foreign to me. On another level, I find that many of these images and stories of self-sacrifice and courage, powerfully, almost viscerally, remind me of Jesus and his response to evil. So, as much as these people need our help, I believe that they also have much to give us. Imagine if we all loved so practically and courageously and selflessly and took it straight to the heart of the worst evil in our lives. Even if the situation didn't change, we would ...and therein lies all the difference. May God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

The Free Burma Ranger’s (FBR) mission is to provide hope, help and love to internally displaced people inside Burma. Using a network of indigenous field teams, FBR is able to carry out critical research into human rights abuses, casualties and humanitarian needs of people too often forgotten by the outside world. FBR provides medical, spiritual and educational resources for IDP communities as they struggle to survive Burmese military attacks.

30 November 2005

I am writing this as the Burma Army continues its attacks against civilians in Toungoo District, Northern Karen State. Now there are over 1900 villagers hiding in fear from the Burma Army. They are in mountains where the elevations range from 4,000-8,000 feet. It is now cold and with no shelter and only the clothes they could escape with, it is a difficult and dangerous task to hide and survive. We and others are organizing a relief effort for these people and will send a team to support those who are already there trying to help.

Last night as I lay with my daughters who both had high fevers, I thought about the families in hiding among whom there must also be some sick children. An anger rose up in me as I thought how terrible it was that people could chase families and children from their homes. It was bad enough to be taking care of our two sick little girls in this training site, but the thought of having to run, hear their cries, try to keep them warm and tend to their fevers as we carried them made me very angry. I thought, "If any normal person in world knew about this they would not tolerate it."

Earlier this year we conducted relief missions in this same area to help over 2,000 people who had been displaced by Burma Army attacks. I remember then, looking at Hee Daw Kaw village in the distance with its prominent tin roofed church in the middle, thinking, "What a beautiful village, one day I would like to visit it". I was told, "That village is safe, we don't think the Burma Army will attack it." It was one of the few relatively untouched villages and was in a beautiful position, on a knoll at the end of a ridge, high above the other villages. It was, however, vulnerable to attack from the Burma Army camps along the Toungoo- Mawchi road to the north. Now the attack has come.

Photo: Villagers hide in terror from their own Army.

In August of this year the Burma Army began an operation to block all food supplies from reaching IDP areas and villages in the areas east of Toungoo (Hee Daw Kaw is in the extreme eastern part of Toungoo District). There was no warning to this attack and we do not know if this is a beginning of a larger scale campaign against IDPs and villagers in this area. What we do know is that there are now more than 900 people newly displaced with nowhere to go, no shelter and limited food. They are in danger of further attack by Burma Army patrols. Among those 900 are many children who do not know why this is happening, only that they are being hunted. I think of the children who are sick and how miserable they must be and the torment their parents are in.

We will stand with these people.

Thank you for your care, help and prayer.
God bless you,
A Free Burma Ranger

There are now over 1,000 newly displaced people in addition to the 900 villagers who fled the attacks of Burma Army IB 73 (Columns 1 and 2), for a total of between 1,900-2,000 IDPs. The Burma Army attacked Hee Daw Kaw Village, burned 30 houses and captured one villager named Sho Sar.
These 1,000+ people fled from their villages and IDP hide sites further west of Hee Daw Kaw after they learned of the initial attack. 300 of the first 900 villagers are from Hee Daw Kaw, the other 600 are from the surrounding villages of Hoki, Sho Ser, Wah Soe, and Ha To Per. The new IDPs (1,000+) are from villages and IDP sites further west up to the Saw Wah Der village area, near the junction of the Mawchi-Baw Ga LI Gyi-Busakee roads, 35 kilometers west of Toungoo.
The Burma Army commenced the attack on 26 November. The villagers of Hee Daw Kaw fled at 9 a.m. on the same day, November 26, 2005. The Burma Army then burned down homes in Hee Daw Kaw (exact number not sure due to Burma Army patrols still near the village), on 28th November. The Burma Army also used a small force of the Karenni breakaway faction Karenni National Solidarity Army (KNSA), in this attack. This pro-dictator Karenni group (KNSA), numbers 200-300 men and were formed in 2002 with the support of the Burma Army. They have been used by the Burma Army to attack the Pro-democracy Karenni resistance (KNPP), as well as IDPs in Karenni State to the east. This is the first major attack in Toungoo District of the Karen State in which the Burma Army has used the KNSA Karenni force.

This report covers forced labor, the capture and reported murder of villagers (two villagers captured on 26 December, 2004 and bodies not yet found), attacks and looting of a village, and continued human rights violations and abuses of Karen people in Toungoo District, Karen State, Burma. This report was sent from the field on 22 January 2005 by a relief team now in the area.

Photo: A Free Burma Ranger administers medial treatment to a woman wounded in an attack by the Burma Army.

IDPS in Hiding:
There are 440 new IDPs still in hiding and in need of rice. A relief team has been able to reach these IDPs and provide medical and limited food relief but the need for sustained food supply is critical.

Each time the Burma Army attacks an area or patrols near a village the villagers flee. At best, this disrupts their cultivation of rice and at worst completely stops it. Villages that are not attacked or oppressed by the SPDC can grow enough rice to feed themselves and have enough left over to sell. At this time there are few villages in the mountains of Toungoo District that can grow a large surplus of rice. This is especially true of villages that the Burma Army targets for attack. Once displaced, the villagers (now IDPs), lose the ability to cultivate thier fields.

The IDPs from Saw Wah Der village are a current example of IDPs who are hiding from Burma Army attacks and cannot cultivate their fields. The IDPs from Saw Wah Der need rice to survive the year. Due to the attacks of 26 December 2004, the villagers were forced to flee into the jungle. They cannot plant or tend their fields and are now relying on rice they were able to carry with them when they fled. On average each person needs six 50 Kilo (110 lbs) sacks of rice per year.

For this group of 440 IDPs, that equates to 2,640 sacks of rice for one year. (Each sack cost 7,500 Kyats. 2,640 sacks x 7,500 Kyats = 1,990,000 Kyats or 40,000 Baht). This is a large sum of money, beyond the capacity of these people, and thus they will need to receive cash or rice assistance to survive. (There are over 20,000 IDPs total in Toungoo District Northern Karen State at this time. Almost every village has been attacked at one time or another and even those able to return to their villages are forced to flee again and again.)

Villagers taken Prisoner by Burma Army:
On 20 January; Two Karen villagers were captured by Burma Army troops from Battalion-LIB 60, Column #2 Commanded by Wey Pyo Pein. These two men work as porters carrying loads of supplies to villages. They were captured by the Burma Army troops and searched. One of their loads contained medicine (which the Karen are prohibited to have) and so they were both tied up and taken to Baw Gale Gyi. Their situation now is unknown. The two men's names are: Saw Tha Day Kwa and Saw Pa Ka Raw.

Forced Portering:
On 19 January, four Karen women were forced to carry military supplies from Ye Tho Gyi ( Kaw Tha Der) to the Burma Army camp at Naw Soe. Naw Soe camp is located south of Ye Tho Gyi on the Busakee road vicinity E 096 49 30 N18 50 00. The Burma Army regularly forces people to porter their loads to their camps. Four days before this, (15 January), four other women were forced to carry loads to the same camp, Naw Soe. (The names of these 8 women are on record but not released here to protect these women from retaliation.)

Resupply of Military Camps:
On 20 January, 17 trucks under Burma Army control entered Baw Gale Gyi with two infantry companys from LIB 92 , under the command of Kyaw Zwa Shwey. The trucks were loaded with rice for the camps. Three of the trucks carried porters and fuel.

Commandeering of Civilians and Vehicles for Military Resupply:
On 17 January, 2005 Strategic Operations Command (SOC) #1 . Commanded by Khin Soe gave the following order to villagers in the Kler Lah-Ye Tho Gyi area: "All local vehicle owners must donate the use of their trucks to send the rations for Burma Army camps on the Kler Lah- Busakee road. (descriptions and locations are item # 7 in this report).

"The civilians must find a way to get the rations to Busakee. If you have any breakdown, accident or fatality, we (Burma Army) will have no responsibility."

The Burma Army Battalion LIB 48 sent 20 civilian truckloads of rations to Kler Lah for resupply of their camps on the Kler Lah- Busakee road.

Seizure of Land for New Army camp:
On 14 January 2005.Burma Army troops seized 273.9 acres in the area between Liet Tho and La Pae villages. This land will be used to build a new Army camp. The troops who seized the land are commanded by Pyeo Ko Ko Than from Southern Command based in Toungoo, Karen State, Burma.

December 28, 2004 

The SPDC's Burma Army is now expanding its operations in Naunglybin District, Karen State, Burma. In addition to the ongoing attack in Shweygyin Township in the Southern part of Naunglybin District, the building of three new forward camps and the extension of the front there, the Burma Army has now launched an operation in Kyauk Kyi Township in the North-Central part of Naunglybin District. This is a smaller scale operation than the one in the south and involves two battalions LIB 382 and LIB 368. 

These two battalions began their operations on 22 December, 2004 and have already displaced 955 people from 13 villages. Rice barns at Gwe Der, Du Baw Lu and Day Baw Kae have been destroyed. The villagers are in hiding now. Most of these villagers are actually IDPs who have had to flee their homes many times before. This year alone they had to flee the Burma Army twice, in June and September. This new area under attack is located about 25 kilometers East of Kyauk Kyi in the vicinity of N 18 17 E096 58.

The villages, families and numbers of people forced to flee are below:

Thauny Nye Der: 12 families, 65 people
Tha Kaw Du: 12 families, 122 people
Do Kae Kee: 12 families, 95 people
Kwe Du: 9 families, 65 people
Ko Lu: 10 families, 52 people
Kaw Hta: 6 families, 38 people
Ler Taw Lu: 9 families, 44 people
Day Baw Kae: 9 families, 64 people
Mukee: 30 families, 173 people
Tee Thaw Lo: 8 families, 40 people
Kaw Taw Hay Ko: 4 families, 29 people
Day Baw Lu: 9 families, 61 people
Mae Lae Kee: 15 families, 94 people
Total population fleeing now from this area: 955 people.

Update on the offensive and three new Burma Army camps.
Part I: Update on the offensive and three new Burma Army camps.

Photo: This child lives in fear daily, as the Burma Army rains terror on Burmese villages. Many children like this one have been killed.

The Burma Army continues its operations against civilians in Naunglybin District, Western Karen State, Burma, 27 December 2004. They are building three new camps that when completed will further shrink the territory of the Karen National Union (KNU) in Western Karen State and force IDPs to flee further into the jungle. The Burma Army has completed a dry season only road from Shweygyn to the East to Kushaw Mountain N 17 56 00 E 097 07 45, on the Papun-Naunglybin District border.

This road is now being improved with the use of Bulldozers. When asked why they thought the Burma Army was making this offensive now, IDPs and Karen soldiers answered that the area East of Shweygyn is rich in gold and timber. The SPDC desires to control this area and drive all IDPs out.

New Burma Army camps:

(Note: Each battalion has one section of a special "Guerilla Retaliation" unit attached.

These troops are specially trained in Toungoo (for operations in the Southern Command), and can function as regular combat troops or deploy in civilian dress to gain information or to launch surprise attacks against civilian targets. Known in Burmese as Dam Byan Byaut Kya or Bom Bi Doh.)

The Burma Army is building three new camps in the area they recently attacked, (14 Nov-15 Dec). These camps are in a line north to south forming a new eastern front, which penetrates deeper into Karen territory. They are built on what were Karen village areas. The 4,781 villagers displaced from these areas are still in hiding in the mountains and jungle near these areas and cannot go back to their homes. The Burma Army has placed landmines around the areas they attacked and burned, and patrol the surroundings.

Camp 1) On 12 December a new camp was started on 12 December, 2004 at Su Mu Klo, on the South bank of the Bolo Chaung (river) at N 18 02 20, E 097 01 15, approximately 20 kilometers North-East of Shweygyn city. The Burma Army drove out the villagers from this area burning their homes, rice barns and destroying their fields.

These people are in hiding in the mountains and have very little to eat and only the clothes they escaped with to wear. The Burma Army Battalion LIB 589 continues to work on this new camp and has mined all approaches extensively. They have also mined all the old villages sites making it very dangerous for anyone to try and return.

Camp 2) On 19 December a new camp was started at Wa Ko Law Thae , N 17 57 00  E 096 59 00, 15 kilometers East of Shweygyn, Burma Army Battalion IB20 is building a this new camp.

Camp 3) On 21 December a new camp was started at Mae Tae Ta, on the Taungale River at N 17 50 30 E 096 58 15. This is 15 Kilometers East-South-East of Shweygyn. LIB 350 and LIB 598 are located here.

The seven Burma Army Battalions now engaged in the building of new camps and attacks on IDP sites are; LIB 350, LIB 589, LIB 20, LIB 349, LIB 598,

Report: 4,781 Karen forced to flee Burma Army attacks and 19,425 baskets of rice have been burned.

Date:  4 Dec 2004
Source: Free Burma Rangers

There are now 4,781 new Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Naunglybin District, Karen State due to ongoing Burma Army attacks. 19,425 baskets of rice have been burned. The affected village tracts are: Bla Ko, Mae Ya Kee, Mae K'Tee, Saw Per Kee and Htee Blu (Bleh). The general area is east of Shwygyin city, vicinity E097 00 to E097 08 and N 17 55 to N 18 05. This update of 4 December follows the reports of 3 December and the earlier reports of November. The Burma Army attacks are ongoing, thus the increasing numbers of IDPs and rice burned.

Below are the earlier reports:

*Amended to include the new IDP and burned rice totals above.

There are now 1,058 (*now actually 4,781 IDPs) people displaced by the attacking Burma Army. The Burma Army has also now burned over 10,000 baskets (*Now 19,425 baskets) of rice. Burma Army battalions IB 57 and LIB 20 continue to burn homes and rice barns in the Ya Aung area while Burma Army Battalions LIB 350 and 264 are burning home, rice barns and patrolling in the Htee Blu (Bleh) area. LIB 589 has crossed into Muthraw Distict but it is not clear what its objectives are.

(The report below was the initial report given after the attacks began and provides background to this update. The major update is that now there are 1,058 IDPs and 10,000 baskets of rice burned.)

The Burma Army is now attacking Karen civilians in Western Karen State, Burma. These attacks have displaced over 800 villagers (IDPs*), who have fled into the jungle with very little food or clothing. The Burma Army is burning homes, rice barns and has destroyed over 2,000 baskets of paddy rice. These attacks are occurring in Naunglybin District, Western Karen State, from November 14, 2004 and continuing through 27 November 2004.

* All of the villagers in this area are Internally Displaced Persons- IDPs, and had recently moved back into this area to reestablish the homes and fields that they had lost in 2000. They are now in hiding again.

Burma Army Attack:
At midnight, 14 November 2004, four Burma Army Battalions (LIB 589, LIB 350, IB 57, LIB20 and one troop from LIB 264) launched attacks against villagers (IDPs) in Hsaw Htee Township, Naunglybin District, Karen State, Burma. The four battalions divided into two forces and launched simultaneous attacks in the Ya Aung area and the Htee Blu area. They have burned over 30 homes, destroyed over 2,000 baskets of rice, looted homes and livestock , and have driven over 800 people into the jungle. Most of the people had only a one-hour warning that the Burma Army was coming and fled in the middle of the night with few possessions or food. Many were sleeping in their fields during this harvest time and could not return to their homes at all. The
food situation is the most critical now and the IDPs have used up all the food they were able to flee with. Disease will begin to be a problem as these people are crowded into two hide sites in the jungle with limited space and water.

The Burma Army is now occupying the high ground near the abandoned villages and continues to burn rice barns and homes as well as to eat the livestock the villagers had to abandon when the Burma Army attacked.

Possible attacks to the North:
In addition to these attacks there are unconfirmed reports that the Burma Army is planning a similar attack against Karen civilians in Ler Doh (Kyauk Kyi) township, Naunglybin District- north of the current attacks in Hsaw Htee township.

Ler Doh Township- There has been a troop buildup and the Burma Army is possibly going to attack in this area. Eight porters who were forced to work for the Burma Army escaped from this area and provided this information. A joint KHRG and FBR team made the following report:

14 November 2004-Ya Aung area, Hsaw Htee Township, Naunglybin District, Karen State, Burma. Four full battalions from LIB 589 commanded by Saw Awe, serial number 20198, LIB 350 commanded by Tha Nine, serial number 18971, IB 57 commanded by Aung Ko Lak, serial number 27151 and LIB 20 and one troop from LIB 264. All troops started their actions on 14 November 2004 from Shweygyin.

A message was received on 14 November at midnight that the Burma Army troops were headed their way and at 1 am the villagers were alerted and started to move.

15 November 2004- Many IDPs, including women and children, had to flee. All of the IDPs are worried about staying alive, because all of the food they could not take with them was burned by Burma Army troops. They expressed that they don't know how or where to get medicine, blankets and clothing or how to treat the IDPs who are sick. They have to cook between 6pm and 4am because they are worried that the Burma Army troops will see the smoke of their fires during the day and find their hiding place.

There are women who are pregnant and close to giving birth staying in the IDP hide sites and if they have to stay much longer will give birth in the jungle. The weather is getting colder and there has been some rain. The IDPs don't have enough clothing or blankets to stay warm as a result of having to leave their homes and farms so quickly. They are also under constant pressure to always be ready to move if the Burma Army troops come near there hiding place. Food, shelter, health and security are their biggest problems right now.

19 November 2004--
A man from Nya Lee Pu village in the jungle was looking for his wife, as they had been separated when the alert went out. He was able to find her a few days later.

The troops went from the Shweygyin River to Su Mu Hta, and then to Ya Aung area (three villages in this area are Ya Aung, Ger Hee Day, Nya Lee Pu). Altogether more than 400 IDPs had to flee from these three villages and are still hiding in the jungle. Some of the villagers believed in the cease-fire and so they stored their paddy at their farms. Even many storehouses of paddy in the jungle have been burned down by Burma Army troops.

20 November 2004--
The team met with villagers who carried rice to the IDPs. The team visited the IDPs from the Ya Aung area. They had no blankets, no clothing, no plastic sheets, and the villagers said to the team, "We only have five days of rice remaining. We don't know how to get enough food." The villagers were suffering from malaria, diarrhea, hepatitis and other illnesses.

21 November 2004--
It rained in the area this night. The children and other IDPs had no plastic sheeting and insufficient shelter so they got wet.

22 November 2004 Htee Blu Area--
There are close to 500 IDPs in this area. The four Burma Army battalions and the troop separated and are in both the Ya Aung area and the Htee Blu Area.

On 22 November 2004, Burma Army troops burned paddy farms in this area. The troops also saved enough paddies near their camp to supply the Burma Army troops with rice.

On 23 November 2004, the Burma Army troops went to Doo Pa Lay and burned down paddy and villagers' houses in that area. The troops burned down the farms and killed the villagers' animals for their food. This area is NW of Su Mu Law River and so the villagers who had fled (and live across the river in an area the troops hadn't arrived yet), were able to return to their farms in the evening, collect their paddy, thresh it and hide it in the jungle. The IDPs are hiding in the jungle and are afraid.

A crying villager told the team, "I was very happy about my leaders making a ceasefire and believed in it. I made a large farm and now I have lost everything."

A relief member comment- " To compare my people to something would be comparing them to animals in the jungle. If I compare their lives to a dog in a town, the food for the dog is more than for the people in the jungle. I do not want to see them living like that any more." He went on to say, " I also gathered all of the IDPs and prayed for them. Some of the villagers lift up their lives to God and depend on God because they can't do anything. I told them that when we see clouds in the sky, the rain will often come, but after the rain the sky is clear and the sun will come out again."

This message received October 16, 2004
Subject: Forced relocation in the Mawchi area, Karenni State, Burma.

Photo: Hundreds of thousands of unarmed villagers in rural Burma are constantly on the run from Army attacks.

The Burma Army and the KNSO (Karenni National Solidarity Organization- a break-away group aligned with the Burma Army), have ordered all Karenni villagers living in south western Karenni State (area west of Mawchi), to relocate to the Kae Ma Pyu area relocation site no later than October 15, 2004. Burma Army infantry battalions are patrolling this area and are searching for all hide sites of the IDPs.

This forced relocation follows similar relocations of Karenni villagers by the Burma Army and KNSO in winter 2003 and summer 2004. Those relocations and the attacks that followed displaced over 2,000 Karenni villagers.
 
Along with the stated objective of denying all support to the Karenni pro-democracy resistance (KNPP), the Burma Army is also attempting to clear the area in order to secure their access to wolfram mines and timber reserves near Mawchi, Karenni State.

Message from a relief team leader; Karen/Karenni State border, July 6, 2004.

We arrived at a hide site for the villagers from Paho village, Karenni State, at 2 pm on the 28th of June. There were 10 families living in 10 small houses/shelters, some as small as 12' by 4', made of bamboo and thatch. These were just some of the over 200 people who were chased out of Paho village by the Burma Army. Paho had been burned to the ground three times; in 1998, 1999, and 2000. Even the hiding place the villagers had fled to had been attacked and destroyed since that time.

During the recent Burma Army offensive in this area (December 2003 through January 2004), the villagers had to flee all the way into Northern Karen State. They returned to a place near their village site in February, but due to Burma Army patrols, could not reoccupy the village. Instead they divided into small groups and built small shelters in the jungle within walking distance of their fields.

On June 24, 2004, one battalion of Burma Army troops made a sweep of this area, looking for the hide sites of the Paho villagers. Our team was in the Northern Karen State, four days walk away at the time we heard the news. We were on our way to help some displaced people in the area south and west of Paho and after treating patients, helping to deliver a baby in a hide site and having a worship service with the people, we walked towards Paho. We arrived at the hide site of 10 of the families and began to treat patients, distribute relief supplies and Good Life Club materials. Everyone was so happy to see us and we were treated to an amazing meal by these generous and resourceful people. They had built a small school out of bamboo and tarps and we had a good time playing with the children.

After about two hours I walked up the ravine and out of the hide site to have a look around. About 20 minutes later as I was walking back down, I was met by a mother with a load on her back and rushing her four children ahead of her. When she saw me she did not stop running but said breathlessly, "The Burma soldiers are coming".

As I re-entered the hide site, every villager was frantically packing and organizing their belongings. Some children were crying and looking up at the hills in terror. Incongruously, some others were clutching the new presents we had just given to them and looked at me giggling and smiling. At the same time their eyes had a unsure, worried look, as if to say, "Is this still a game?" "Please say it is."

As the team helped to move supplies and lead the villagers away, I asked a Karenni soldier who had led us to this site, "What is the situation?" He replied, "The Burma soldiers have been in this area for four days looking for the villagers' hiding place, they are now very close. They have captured a villager who went to the old village to look after his crop of corn. We worry they will come here, and we have to get everyone out of here now."

When the first group of families were ready, we sent the medics and part of the team with them to lead them to another hiding place. They started up out of the ravine and went up into the mountains into deeper jungle. I stayed back with three Karenni soldiers and three of our team members to help the remaining people. As we were helping one of the last families the grandmother of the family turned to me and asked, "It is my son who was captured, what can be done?" All I could say was, "Let us pray."

Together we prayed for the release of her son and then she continued to hurriedly pack her large rattan basket with food and cooking implements. Then another lady in her 70's came to me and said to me, "My son, don't worry, God sees everything, the Burma Army will not get away with this, we do not have to be afraid, God will deliver us. We are not afraid!" Her big smile made me smile too and laugh, and I said, "Yes. Grandmother, God sees and cares, we are not afraid and we are in this together, we will be with you."

It took us about half an hour to completely clear the hide site and move the rest of the families to safety. It was dark when we linked up with the first group of families. They were in thick jungle huddled under tarps as rain began to fall. One Karenni soldier on rear security came to us and said, "The Burma Army is very close now and may find us, should we move?" We discussed this and prayed. We then decided to stay put until dawn. To try to move up very steep mountains at night, in the rain, with no lights and carrying children including a newborn, would not be possible to do in silence. We were better off to keep quiet and alert, with part of the team ready to lead the families away if we were found. The rest of us would stay between the people and the Burma Army as a buffer.

The night passed without incident and before first light we were up and began to move the families up the mountain and further away from the hide site and the searching Burma Army. At the top of the mountain, part of the team led the people further away while the rest of us stayed to keep watch for the Burma Army and to help any stragglers from other hiding places.

That afternoon we found out that the Burma Army had turned back towards their base in Mawchi and that the captured villager had been released and was alive. I thought of the prayers of his mother and thanked God that he was free. We continued to find many displaced people for the next three days, treating over 260 patients and staying with them until we had confirmed the Burma Army had returned to Mawchi. We then continued our mission to the south.

What is in people that they could chase families and small children like this? What evil or madness possesses people to do this? What does the Burma Army hope to reap by treating their people this way? I do not know these answers but I do believe God does care, and justice will come. We also know you care and are so grateful for all of you who help and pray.

God bless you,
A Free Burma Ranger

Received July 1, 2004:
The Karenni IDPs who fled the Burma Army in the Paho area are now further away in a safer hiding place and food is being taken to them. The Burma Army Battalion LIB 135 searched this area for seven days but were unable to find the main IDP hiding places. However, they came very close to some of them, forcing the people to flee further away. Burma Army LIB 135 has now returned to its' base in Mawchi and there are no further operations in the area (south of the Mawchi road to the Karen border) at this time. Most of the 500 villagers who were hiding away from their villages in this area have now been able to return to their villages. It is not clear whether or not the Burma Army will launch another operation into this area and because of this the villagers are ready to flee at any time.

Next: Into Burma