Karen Humanrights Group :Update No.65: March 24th 2011 – 4:45 pm “Villager shot, houses burned during night-time DKBA attack on Waw Lay village”

Karen Humanrights Group :Update No.65: March 24th 2011 – 4:45 pm “Villager shot, houses burned during night-time DKBA attack on Waw Lay village”
March 26, 2011

On March 24th 2011, a KHRG field researcher reported that one villager had been injured and several houses burned during a DKBA attack on Waw Lay village, Kawkareik Township just after midnight on March 23rd. Waw Lay is currently occupied by Tatmadaw forces and approximately half of the village’s residents are staying in their homes, while the rest continue to seek refuge outside of the village, including at discreet locations in Thailand. According to KHRG’s researcher, who was near Waw Lay at the time of the attack, small arms fire was audible from Thailand between 12:24 and 12:29 am on March 23rd.

Further details of the attack were supplied by villagers who spoke with KHRG’s researcher when they fled Waw Lay at midday on March 24th amid rumours of further fighting in the village. These sources indicated that DKBA soldiers began an attack after midnight on March 23rd by shooting at Tatmadaw positions with small arms, and that Tatmadaw soldiers responded by firing small arms and three mortar rounds. During the clash, most villagers took cover in temporary bomb shelters they have constructed near their homes to protect themselves in case of fighting, and some residents crossed the Moei River to take temporary refuge in Thailand.

At least one villager was injured in the fighting: Saw Nya Uh, a 32-year-old resident of Waw Lay, was shot in the leg before he was able to take cover, sustaining a graze wound to his thigh; the local sources that spoke with KHRG’s researcher could not confirm whether Saw Nya Uh was shot by a DKBA or a Tatmadaw soldier. The sources added that the DKBA soldiers burned nine houses during the attack, of which seven houses were partially burned and two were totally burned.