April 8, 200719 yr The following appears in THE NATION: _____ Hundreds of Ethnic Karen Flee Burma Amid fighting Fresh outbreaks of fighting between Burma's ethnic rebels and armed forces loyal to the country's junta have led to more than 200 ethnic Karen fleeing to Thailand, Thai border officials said Sunday. The fighting began Saturday between a pro-junta militia and the rebel Karen National Union (KNU), forcing the civilians to cross the border into the western Tak province, said Thawal Pattanacharoen, regional border police chief. "The fighting went on all day long until early Sunday morning, and has forced more than 200 Karen to seek refuge in Thailand," Thawal said. Most of the ethnic minority Karen civilians had now returned home, he added, with only 60 left in Thailand, most of whom were women and children. He denied local media reports that up to 30 rebels from both sides had died in the fighting, which has pitted Burma's pro-government Democratic Karen Buddhist Army against the KNU. The KNU is the largest rebel group fighting Burma's armed forces and one of the few remaining ethnic insurgent groups yet to sign a peace deal with the junta. Burma, under military rule since 1962, has signed ceasefires with 17 other ethnic armed groups. Up to 150,000 Karen refugees already live in camps along Thailand's border with Burma. Many of them have been there for more than 20 years. Burma began a bloody offensive against the Karen a year ago. Human rights groups say the crackdown has forced thousands of civilians to abandon their villages and flee into the jungles. Agence France-Presse
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