UPDATE ON KAREN REFUGEE CAMPS #2

[durham@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

1 Febuary 1997  5:00 pm Thailand time

The following report has been confirmed by several of our staff who
returned from Mae La (Beh Klaw).  They indicated that there were from
300-500 soldiers on the Thai side.  Several thousand refugees have moved
across the road into the jungles and mountains that lie deeper in Thailand
to seek safe refuge for the night.  There are only about 30 Thai boarder
patrol officers near the camp and our friends expect that they will move
out when the shelling begins.  So far the Thai military has been reluctant
to interfere with Burmese military incursions that are directed against
the refugees.  The situation is currently very tense, and our staff were
urged to leave the area later this afternoon.  Other friends went further
north and will provide more information when they return later today.

> From: Burma Issues <durham@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> 
> 1 Febuary 1997  2:30pm Thailand time.
> 
> News from the Thai-Burma border.
> 
> Friends from our border office have been discussing the current situation
> with people from the nearby camps and have forwarded the following
> information to us.  Most of is was obtained from intercepted radio
> transmissions.  
> 
> Last night units of soldiers crossed the Moi River from Burma into
> Thailand, near Mae La (Beh Klaw) camp (population approx. 25,000).  The
> southern group is predominantly DKBA while the northern group consists of
> Slorc soldiers.  While entering Thailand, the southern group met Thai
> soldiers and they exchanged fire, but the Thai soldiers pulled back.
> Currently both groups are hiding in the mountains between the border and
> Mae La (Beh Klaw) camp.  The two groups combined have a total of 400-500
> soldiers.  
> 
> Tonight, a third group of soldiers located along the Burmese bank of the
> Moei River plan to initiate the attack by  shelling Mae La (Beh Klaw)
> camp, after which the two groups will attack from the north and south.
> Currently residents of Mae La (Beh Klaw) are moving across the road and
> into the Thai jungles on the other side.  For those not familiar with the
> geography it looks like this:
> 
> 
> 	|M|		^		: :	^
> 	|O|	T	^		: :	^
> B	|E|	H	^	C	:R:	^
> U	|I|	A	^	A	:O:	^
> R   	| |	I	^	M	:A:	^
> M	|R|	L	^	P	:D:	^
> A	|I|	A	^		: :	^
> 	|V|	N	^		: :	^
> 	|E|	D	^		: :	^
> 	|R|		^		: :	^
> 
> Several of our staff will be returning from Mae La (Beh Klaw) and will be
> able to confirm current situation there.  The KNU has been moving troops
> into the area, but we do not know to what extent.  We also do not know
> what the Thai authorities are doing although one of our staff saw a
> several trucks carrying Thai soldiers, dressed in black (perhaps a one or
> more ranger units), in Mae Sot.  They might be mobilizing to head north to
> Mae La (Beh Klaw).
> 
> If the camp gets attacked tonight, the already serious refugee problems
> will be escalated significantly.  
> 
> Burma Issues
>