Rats!
In a major offensive, Myanmar government forces have taken an ethnic Karen stronghold near the border with Thailand, leaving about 1,500 people homeless and in hiding, observers in northern Thailand said Friday. The offensive against the 7th Brigade headquarters of the Karen National Liberation Army began last month in Paan district of Karen State, opposite the Thai town of Mae Sot. A Western journalist who visited the scene of the fighting on Wednesday said 80 Karen guerrilla defenders had been holding out against 400 Myanmar government troops besieging the stronghold, about 5 kilometers (3 miles) inside Myanmar. It fell Thursday, but most of the defenders apparently escaped. Mahn Sha, the secretary general of the rebels’ political wing, the Karen National Union, denied any major loss by his forces, saying his guerrillas held no permanent positions in the area. He told The Associated Press by telephone that sporadic fighting has been going on for the past 10 days, after about 3,000 government troops entered the Pa-An area. Mahn Sha claimed 120 government soldiers had been killed in the fighting and Karen casualties numbered only 12 wounded. The claims could not be corroborated and KNU’s reports in the past have sometimes proved to be exaggerated.
Those are pretty lop-sided sounding numbers — I'll admit I hope they're true, though. I admit to liking the Karens. They're a forest tribe, many of them Baptists, believe it or not. The ladies smoke pipes and they're very friendly, nice people. The Burmans — the majority ethnic group in Burma — tend to look down on them, and the junta's been trying to stamp out their autonomy movement for years.
The Shans, their neighboring tribe and occasional allies, are related to the Thais. They're less stable than the Karens, being prone to siezures. You don't want to be around when the fit hits the Shan... |
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