New Burma Army attacks and expansion of operations against villagers and IDPs in Naunglybin District, Karen State, Burma.
Earlier attack: 4,791 IDPs
New attack: 955 IDPs
Total: 5746 IDPs
The new attacks are occurring 25 kilometers north of the first attacks, in Kyauk Kyi township.
8 months’ pregnant women with all her belongings, in a hiding place, prepared to flee
IDPs Christmas Service in hiding place
Karen children coming to celebrate Christmas
IDPs prepare rice salvaged from burned fields and storage barns
IDP children and their father
Map of new area of attack and ongoing offensive in Naunglybin District, Karen State
The 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.
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.