According to the latest reports from the Free Burma Rangers, a relief team working in eastern Burma, in a media advisory put out by Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), the number of displaced people in Karen State has risen to over 18,000. In one area, over 800 civilians have been captured and forced to work as porters for the military, along with over 1,000 prisoners.

In the latest reported attack, Burma Army Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 362 attacked and burned Ger Baw Kee village in northwestern Muthraw District on 2 June. The previous day, Naw Yo Hta and Kay Pu villages suffered a third day of mortar attacks, by three Burma Army battalions. Escaped porters have reported that the Burma Army has plans to expand the operation even further, by attacking Myaunglebin, Toungoo and Muthraw Districts. The Burma Army is moving at least two divisions closer to those areas.

The CSW report states that deliberate attacks on unarmed civilians continue. Villagers have been shot at point-blank range, and several bodies have been found which have been severely mutilated and beheaded. In addition, the Free Burma Rangers report that since May 13, the Burma Army ‘Byaung Shin Special Batallion has been attempting to capture Karen children who go to school in army controlled areas, but whose parents live in the hills east of Toungoo.

CSW says that in attacks in Muthraw District on May 20, a 17 year-old boy was killed and another wounded when the army opened fire on villagers who were in a farm hut in southern Luthaw Township. In Nyaunglebin District, a Burma Army landmine killed a Karen woman who was 5 months pregnant.

The crisis in Burma has drawn increasing attention from the international community, CSW says. On May 31, British Foreign Secretary, Margaret Beckett, condemned the Burmese Government's decision to extend the house arrest of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. The United States also expressed alarm at Aung San Suu Kyi’s continuing detention and that of other pro-democracy figures. The US went further to announce that it will seek a UN Security Council resolution on Burma.

The Free Burma Rangers (FBR) are a relief organization providing emergency medical and food supplies to the internally displaced people. They also document and report human rights violations. For more information, please visit www.freeburmarangers.org

A cross-party group of British MPs have tabled an Early Day Motion (EDM), condemning the gross human rights violations, and urging the British Government to provide urgently needed humanitarian assistance to those fleeing the attacks. There are currently 81 signatories.

CSW Advocacy Director, Tina Lambert, says: “It is difficult to imagine the indiscriminate brutality of these atrocities. Whilst we are pleased to see the US putting more pressure on Burma through the UN Security Council, we urge the rest of the international community to follow their lead and seek an end to these attacks by supporting a clear resolution.”

CSW is a human rights organization which specializes in religious freedom, works on behalf of those persecuted for their Christian beliefs and promotes religious liberty for all.