Four killed in Myanmar-Burma rebel attack
YANGON: Heavy weapons fire from rebel groups in eastern Myanmar killed four farm workers and wounded three more as fighting continues to rage in the region, state media reported on Saturday.
The armed wing of the Karen National Union was accused of “undermining peace of the State, tranquility of community and prevalence of law and order” and “causing death, injury and fear”, the New Light of Myanmar newspaper said.
It said the group, which has waged Myanmar’s longest-running insurgency, battling the government since 1949, fired heavy weapons into an area of Bago Region, northeast of Yangon, that borders Karen state.
Fighting between ethnic insurgents and government troops in Karen State flared around the time of the country’s controversial elections last November.
Thousands of people briefly fled across the border into Thailand seeking to escape the violence and unrest has continued to boil.
As a result of the elections Myanmar, ruled by the military since 1962, has a new parliamentary system, although it is dominated by retired generals and has been criticised as a sham aimed at shoring up army rule.
Some observers say the creation of 14 new regional assemblies could provide a certain amount of autonomy for the country’s ethnic minority populations.
The Burman are the majority ethnic group in Myanmar, making up about 68 percent of the population, but there are at least 135 other ethnic groups speaking 100 different languages and dialects.
Karen make up about seven percent of Myanmar’s population and most are Buddhist, although there are also many Christians after the British army recruited and converted them during colonial rule.
Civil war has wracked parts of the country since its independence in 1948, although 17 insurgent groups have agreed to ceasefires with the junta.
Ahead of the first election in 20 years the regime pressured armed movements to give up their weapons or come under state control — a move most resisted.
Experts believe the rebels pose little threat to the junta outside of the areas in which they operate because government forces have more than doubled in size over the past two decades and comprise up to 400,000 personnel.
The KNU is the country’s largest insurgent group, with an estimated 2,000 to 3,000 troops, but analysts say infighting and defections have weakened their ranks. In 1994 a faction broke away to form the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA).
There are about 150,000 Karen living in refugee camps along the Thai border after fleeing fighting in Myanmar.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/1111813/1/.html
