Burma army

The Myanmar central government has consistently denied its soldiers have systematically used rape as a weapon of war against ethnic minorities. But according to numerous reports, despite recent political reforms, Myanmar’s army has continued to rape, torture and kill civilians of the ethnic minorities. In 2011, pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi said: ”Rape is used in my country as…

Over 100 houses located in area near a Burma Army camp in Three Pagoda Pass Town were told by senior army officer they had to leave the area. Residents from Three Pagoda Pass Town in Karen State alleges that both an army officer from the Southeast Tactical Command and local authorities, warned residents living in the Tat Gon district, to…

A new report – Losing Ground – by the Karen Human Rights Group documenting the land grabs by the Burma Army in Karen State was released this week in Bangkok at the Foreign Correspondent’s Club of Thailand. The report highlights cases of the Burma Army taking land in areas of Karen State, even though a ceasefire agreement was signed between…

The new Burmese government needs to design and implement a national program to eliminate the landmine risk if it is serious about genuine political reconciliation with the ethnic minorities in Burma. Despite democratic reforms and moves to sign ceasefires with non-state armed groups, Burma is still not a signatory to the 1997 Ottawa Convention banning the use of land mines,…

Middle-ranking Karen army officers claim that the Burma Army has taken advantage of last year’s historic ceasefire, signed between the government and the Karen National Union, to reinforce its position in territory controlled by the ethnic armed group. Captain Saw Gyi No, the KNU Tee Mo Pwa area administration chairman in the Mergui-Tavoy District, in southern Burma, spoke to Karen…

A Burma Army supply truck was hit by a mine on Tuesday evening in Tantabin Township, Toungoo District, eyewitnesses said the explosion left two injured and two dead. The blown-up truck was from the 4th Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) under the command of Deputy Colonel Ye Thwin Aung under the 66th Division. The accident happened as a convoy of 20…

Government ministers, police officers, the government’s military and representatives of all of the state’s armed groups met and discussed the setting up of economic zones in Myawaddy, refugees repatriation and the country’s legislation system. Colonel Aung Lwin, the Karen State, Border Security Affairs Minister, met with government department officers, the police and representatives of the State’s various armed groups at…

Burma’s recent reforms have failed to improve the country’s human rights situation, say rights groups. Over the past year, Burma’s civilian government has released nearly 400 political prisoners, relaxed media censorship, and permitted opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy party to assume 43 parliamentary seats it won in a 2012 by-election. Human rights groups…

Kachin activists based in Thailand demonstrated in front of both the US and China consulates in Chiang Mai calling for an end to the Burma Army offensive in Kachin State Friday last week. The protest lasted around 20 minutes at the Chinese consulate before continuing at the US consulate. Speaking to Karen News, Ma Hsai Zin, a member of the…

Despite ceasefire agreements the Burma is forcing Karen civilians to use their private vehicles to transport military supplies to and from army camps. Villagers allege that last week the Burma Army forcibly took three civilian pickup trucks in the Waw Lay area, Myawaddy Township in Karen State to transport supplies. Burma Army troops from 310th and 275th Infantry Battalions, under…