THE NATION: 50 killed as Karen raid

[suriya@xxxxxxxxxxxx]

Politics 

      50 killed as Karen raid
      DKBA bases

      Karen rebels simultaneously attacked three
      bases of guerrillas allied with the Burmese
      military government and killed at least 50
      people near the tense border yesterday,
      hours before the regime celebrated Armed
      Forces Day with parading troops in the
      capital, rebels and officials said. 

      The Karen National Union (KNU) told
      Associated Press in Bangkok that 100 of
      its fighters staged the attacks inside Burma
      in revenge for a series of cross-border
      raids by pro-government forces against
      refugee camps in Thailand. 

      The Democratic Karen Buddhist Army
      (DKBA) has crossed the border from
      bases in Burma repeatedly this month,
      burning down two camps and firing mortars
      at another. Thailand has protested to the
      Burmese government and threatened
      retaliation against the intruders. 

      A Thai border police officer, speaking on
      condition of anonymity, told The Nation that
      at least 50 people were killed in the
      one-hour raids, including some civilians,
      and 20 people were injured. The KNU force
      struck both a DKBA camp and burned
      down a DKBA-controlled village and
      sawmill. 

      Most of the 100,000 refugees from Burma
      seeking shelter in Thailand are from the
      Karen minority. The majority support the
      KNU, which has fought for more Karen
      autonomy for 50 years. 

      The raids against the camps have been
      accompanied by an offensive inside Burma
      by the government army against the KNU. 

      The rebels mustered 100 fighters equipped
      with grenade launchers and assault rifles
      and attacked three military camps,
      opposite Tak province, with DKBA and
      government troops on Thursday night, Thai
      officials said. 

      The attacks lasted until early yesterday
      morning. 

      ''Our soldiers and our villagers are angry,''
      Ner Dah, a KNU spokesman, said in
      Bangkok. ''They attack us, they attack our
      people several times. Now, we want to give
      a little back to them.'' 

      Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai this week
      threatened ''all-out attacks'' against
      intruders if refugee camps are attacked
      again. 

      Army chief Chettha Thanajaro said on
      Wednesday that the camps should not be
      used to harbour anti-Burma rebels and that
      able-bodied men suspected of being
      combatants should be sent back to Burma
      to defuse the threat of more cross-border
      raids. 

      Although the move has been criticised by
      non-governmental organisations (NGOs),
      Chettha yesterday insisted that the Army
      would carry out the policy. He said one of
      the reasons that prompt fighting both on
      Thai and Burmese soils is the KNU. 

      ''Criticism by NGOs may be prompted by a
      misunderstanding. When KNU soldiers who
      stay in Thailand attack DKBA, DKBA
      retaliates,'' he said. 

      Thai authorities yesterday searched Mae
      Hla camp in Tak but did not found
      weapons, which they said might have been
      removed before the search. 

      A Burmese government official, in a faxed
      statement to Bangkok, said that the
      incidents were an internal Karen problem
      and that the government does not
      encourage incursions against neighboring
      countries. 

      The statement said that KNU forces had
      attacked a village inside Burma on
      Tuesday in which three villagers were killed.

      The refugees have claimed that the
      offensive was part of a run-up to Armed
      Forces Day by the Burmese military to
      notch some victories before the important
      holiday, marking the anniversary of
      resistance against Japanese occupation in
      1945. 

      The Nation, Associated Press