The Karen flee from Burmese army raid

Published on Saturday 23 January 2010 19:45

MORE than 2,000 ethnic Karen people have fled their villages in eastern Burma after attacks by government troops.

Soldiers have shot dead several ethnic Karen people, burned down houses, arrested villagers and forced others into labour since last Sunday, according to Free Burma Rangers (FBR), a group that provides humanitarian assistance to displaced people.

The reports could not be verified immediately, but similar attacks in recent years have forced tens of thousands of Karen to flee, many ending up in overcrowded camps across the border in Thailand.

"There are no large-scale offensives at this time but over 2,000 people have been displaced in attacks this week while villagers were shot to death by Burma Army patrols," FBR said in a statement.

Aid groups are preparing for a rise in refugees from military-ruled Burma into neighbouring Thailand and China ahead of the country's first elections in two decades this year.

Burma's junta, which has ruled for almost 50 years, wants dozens of ethnic groups to join the political process, but most have resisted, saying they do not trust the government and have nothing to gain from voting.

The government plans to recruit thousands of rebel fighters to join the army's border patrol units, either voluntarily or by force, and has threatened an all-out offensive on ethnic militias if they do not comply.

The Karen National Union, branded "terrorists" by the junta, is one of the biggest of the armed ethnic groups that have been fighting for greater autonomy since independence from Britain in 1948.