Reuters-Myanmar troops raid hilltri

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Subject: Reuters-Myanmar troops raid hilltribe village, kill one 

Myanmar troops raid hilltribe village, kill one
10:43 p.m. May 05, 1999 Eastern
BANGKOK, May 6 (Reuters) - About 30 Myanmar soldiers raided a hilltribe
village close to the Thai border on Wednesday night and killed one villager,
a Thai security source said.

The source in Thailand's Mae Sai district opposite Myanmar said 42 ethnic
Akha villagers escaped into Thailand after the raid on Sampli village close
to the Myanmar town of Tachilek.

They told police the raid might have been the result of a dispute over
narcotics since villages in the area are known drug transit points.

They said Myanmar troops rounded up about 200 villagers during the raid and
shot one when he attempted to run away.

The village is in the heart of the ``Golden Triangle,'' the world's leading
source of opium and its derivative heroin. The triangle is formed by the
juncture of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand.