Villagers Killed in Burma Army Attacks
A Burma Army attack on a village on the Shan-Kachin State border has seen civilians targeted and killed, according to a report by the front line humanitarian organisation Free Burma Rangers.
The attack happened on the 30th of March at Pang Hka village. During the attack a 70-year-old woman, named as Ma Kaw, was shot in the stomach. Before Ma Kaw could reach a clinic, she died of her injuries. A 7-year old girl received a gunshot wound to her arm, while a 32-year-old man was badly wounded by shrapnel from a propelled grenade.
Grave fears are held for nine villagers who are still unaccounted for in the days following the attack.
FBR said that the attack involved as many as 100 soldiers from Burma Army Light Infantry Battalions 276 and 237.
The assaults and killing are the latest in the Burma’s destructive war in Shan and Kachin States that first began with a Burma Army offensive against Kachin Independent Army in 2011. Ceasefire negotiations have failed to bring a halt to the conflict which has brought in an array of non-state armed groups including the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA).
FBR has estimated that at least 100,000 civilians have been displaced in the conflict in northern Burma.
