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With the annual monsoon rains now falling over Karen State, the SPDC’s military offensive
against civilian villagers in northern Karen State would normally be drawing to a close.
However, quite the opposite is happening. The resumption of SPDC Army attacks on
villages and the increased patrols in Toungoo District shows that the offensive is far from
over. Thousands more landmines have been reportedly deployed across Toungoo District to
isolate certain parts of the district and restrict villagers’ movements. An analysis of SPDC
Army troop movements and tactics suggests that the offensive is now set to expand
eastward across the Day Loh River where it can be expected that SPDC units will soon
commence shelling and destroying villages. In addition to this, the situation in the southeast
of the district has become dire as the villagers are now caught between two advancing
columns and have nowhere left to flee. It is likely that dozens more villages will be
destroyed and thousands more villagers will be displaced in the coming months.
Civilian villagers living in Toungoo District (Taw Oo in Karen), the northernmost of the seven
Karen districts in eastern Burma, have been under attack since November last year. In its
latest military offensive against the civilian population, the State Peace and Development
Council (SPDC) military junta has been targeting Karen villagers living in the hills of northern
Karen State in the ongoing attempt to consolidate its control and bring the whole of the
population under its rule. Over the past six months, thousands of villagers have been
displaced and dozens of villages have been abandoned and/or destroyed. The wet season
has now commenced, but the attacks show no sign of slowing down. Unlike in previous
years, when offensive activities would cease with the onset of the rains, the SPDC has
actually recently intensified its activities against Karen civilians in Toungoo District. The
situation for the villagers is now growing increasingly desperate as more and more troops
flood into the district to inflict wholesale human rights violations..."... Table of Contents:
The Scope of Displacement: Implications for Health and Education; Increased Isolation of Villages in the Region;
Examining the Motives behind the Offensive.
