UPDATE:Arbitrary arrest in Waw Lay village and execution in Meh K’Ner village
Displacement Monitoring: Regular updates on protection concerns for villagers in Dooplaya District and Tak Province
Civilians in Dooplaya District continue to be impacted by conflict between the Tatmadaw and armed Karen groups, who have increased fighting since November 7th 2010. The situation remains highly unstable and civilians report a variety of human rights and security concerns related to ongoing conflict and conflict-related abuse. In order to provide as current information as possible on the fighting and related protection concerns, KHRG will post to this page immediate situation updates that are not posted in the regular news bulletin, field report, map and photo gallery sections of the KHRG website. All new updates and reports regarding the situation for civilians in Dooplaya will also be accessible through the new ‘Displacement Monitoring’ section of the KHRG website.
Update No.36: December 23rd 2010 – 4:00 pm
Arbitrary arrest in Waw Lay village and execution in Meh K’Ner village
On December 21st 2010 at approximately 11 am, a KHRG researcher spoke to M—, a resident of Waw Lay village, who reported two separate incidents of serious human rights abuses committed by Tatmadaw soldiers during the last week in eastern Kawkareik Township, Dooplaya District.
The first incident was reported by M— to have occurred on December 19th 2010 in Waw Lay village. M— told KHRG that he had been arrested by Tatmadaw soldiers and accused of stealing from the house of N—, another resident of Waw Lay village. He told KHRG that the Tatmadaw soldiers did not believe him when he said he had not entered N—’s house, and held him for one to two hours at a house belonging to C—, another villager from Waw Lay. He told KHRG that, while he was held, the soldiers, under the command of Sergeant B—, questioned him and threatened to beat him with their guns.
The second incident was reported by M— to have occurred on December 18th 2010 in Meh K’Ner village, Kawkareik Township, approximately three hours on foot from Myawaddy Town, Pa’an District. M— told KHRG that A—, a DKBA soldier, returned to Meh K’Ner village to check on his house, where his wife, daughter and parents-in-law lived. M— heard from his friend G—, who is A—’s neighbour in Meh K’Ner village, that, when A— returned, Tatmadaw soldiers on patrol in the village recognized him as a being a DKBA soldier. G— told M— that the Tamadaw soldiers came to A—’s house and shot and killed him and all four of his other family members living in the house, including A—’s two-year old daughter. KHRG has yet to separately confirm this incident, however it is, at minimum, a strong indicator of what villagers in the area view to be a credible threat from Tatmadaw soldiers.
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