On 22nd March a five month old baby boy, a five year old girl, and a 37 year old woman were killed in an attack by the Burmese Army on Khaw Hta village, Kler Lwe Htoo District (Nyaung Lin Bin District in Burmese), Karen State.
According to a local villager, Burmese Army Battalion 369 entered the village at 4.30pm and opened fire without warning, shooting at any villager in sight and firing into villager’s homes, which are made from bamboo. The villagers fled into the jungle. Nine houses were also destroyed.
The three people killed are; Naw La Pwe, 37 years old and the mother of six children; Naw Paw Bo (5 years old); and Saw Htee P’Lar Htoo (5 months old). Another woman, Naw Pa Lah (27 years old and a mother) was seriously injured.
The people of the village are now hiding in the jungle, and the Burmese Army remains active in the area.
Attacks on Karen villagers have been increasing since 17th January this year. More than 2,500 people were forced to flee their homes after attacks in two areas in Karen State. In one attack a child was killed and two others injured when the Burmese Army fired a mortar bomb at a school.
On March 5th the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Burma published a report describing the attacks on civilians as so serious, with responsibility going to the top of the dictatorship, that the United Nations should set up a Commission of Inquiry into war crimes and crimes against humanity being committed by the dictatorship.
On 24th March Mark Lyall Grant, the UK Representative to the United Nations, stated that the UK would support referring Burma to the International Criminal Court.
“Day after day these attacks continue and are largely ignored by the international community,” said Zoya Phan, International Coordinator at Burma Campaign UK. “Burma’s generals are breaking international law, but the United Nations has not even set up an Inquiry to investigate these crimes, let alone prosecute those responsible. A UN Commission of Inquiry should be set up immediately.”
For more information contact Zoya Phan on 020 7324 4710