Diarrhoea kills dozens of Karen ref

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Subject: Diarrhoea kills dozens of Karen refugees in camps 


Diarrhoea kills dozens of Karen refugees in camps 
04:08 a.m. May 05, 1997 Eastern 

MAESOT, Thailand, May 5 (Reuter) - At least 26 Karen refugees who fled
fighting in Burma and
sought refuge in camps along the western Thai border have died from
diarrhoea over the past two
months, refugee officials said on Monday. 

Twenty refugees who got diarrhoea died in camps in southwestern Rachaburi
province while six
others died in a camp in Nu Hpo camp in Umphang district in Tak province in
March and April,
Robert Htwe, chairman of the Karen Refugees Committee, told Reuters. 

A western relief worker confirmed the reports of the diarrhoea-related
deaths but said the problem,
due to poor living conditions in the camps, was now under control. 

The refugees fled into Thailand in March after the Burmese military launched
an offensive against the
rebel Karen National Union (KNU) guerrilla bases inside Burma. 

The KNU, formed in 1948 to seek greater autonomy from the Burmese government
for the eastern
Karen state, is one of the few rebel groups that is still fighting against
the ruling State Law and Order
Restoration Council (SLORC). 

Thai health officials were not available to confirm the reports as Monday
was a public holiday in the
country. 

Refugee officials said an outbreak of malaria was feared as the rainy season
approached later this
month. 

Some 7,000 Karen refugees in three camps in Rachaburi province were forced
to sleep on the
ground in makeshift shelters covered with plastic sheets because Thai
authorities would not allow
them to cut trees to build above-ground structures, Htwe said. 

Nearly 100,000 Karen refugees, family members and followers of the KNU have
been living in
sprawling camps near the Thai border with Burma since 1984. ^REUTER@