More than 4,000 ethnic Karen in eastern Burma have fled to Thailand after renewed fighting between Burmese government forces and Karen rebels.
Many of those who have fled over the past week were living at the Ler Per Her camp for internally displaced people in Burma - and had already left their home villages.
Rainbow, who is the secretary of the camp and the headmaster of the school there, told the BBC News website about what is forcing the Karen to flee and the difficult circumstances they now face:
Last week government troops attacked our camp. They were shelling every day. The fighting between the Burmese army and the Karen rebels was taking place close to the camp. It became a dangerous place. So we decided to leave. There were 1,264 people living in the camp. Since October 2008 we've had about 300 new arrivals.
The Democratic Karen Buddhist Amy (DKBA) [allied to the Burmese army] have been trying to force people in the area to join them in the last few months.
Click here to continue reading.
No comments:
Post a Comment