Border Security Tight after DKBA Attack Thai Village

By SAW YAN NAING

Thai villagers in Mae Klong Khee in Tak Province in Umphang District are afraid to return to their homes after a breakaway Karen rebel group, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), attacked their village on Saturday.

Some 15 villagers in Mae Klong Khee were detained by DKBA soldiers because they were believed to be Karen who were cooperating with the Karen National Union, sources said. One villager was reportedly injured, and the home of the village headman was seriously damaged.

Eyewitnesses said dozens of DKBA soldiers with the 907 Battalion attacked Mae Klong Khee in Umphang District. Hundreds of villagers fled and haven’t yet returned home, sources said.
DKBA soldiers also burned down several maize barns on Burmese soil opposite Mae Klong Khee, sources said.

Capt Bu Paw of the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) 201 Battalion said DKBA 907 and 906 battalions along with regular Burmese army units from Light Infantry Battalion 401 and 407 are preparing to attack KNLA military bases in Kawkareik Township in Karen State, in an effort to control the area.

The DKBA is seeking tax revenue from villagers who are growing maize crops, according to KNLA sources.

Recently, the KNU tax department of Brigade 6 warned that the DKBA had plans to wrest control of Kawkareik District from the KNLA because of the money to be gained from agriculture, logging and mining in the area.

KNU-controlled areas in Kawkareik Township that could be threatened include Kalawkaw and Kler Law Kyel, said Capt Bu Paw.

He said minor skirmishes between the DKBA and KNLA units have occurred since Saturday, and the KNLA is waiting for a major attack.

Meanwhile, Thai soldiers tightened security along the border after an estimated 500 soldiers from combined units of the Burmese military and DKBA on Sunday attacked KNU strongholds in Ban Borae village in Burma opposite Tambon Mokro and Valeki military camp in Umphang District, according to the English language newspaper, Bangkok Post. No casualties were reported.

Thai army units warned villagers in Tambon Mokro to be on alert and not to leave home at night.

In July, fighting between DKBA and KNLA soldiers prompted an evacuation of some 100 residents in Ban Padi village in Thailand’s Phop Phra District.

Karen human rights organizations said the DKBA has been recruiting soldiers since mid-August and has forced Burmese villagers to attend military training, in an effort to prepare an offensive against the KNLA.