Mehm Oa : Two Burmese battalions took 11 villagers from Tadein village, Kyainnseikyi Township, Karen State to be used as forced porters, after a skirmish with the Karen insurgent army.
On November 14th Burmese army Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) No. 284 arrived at Tadein Village and arrested 11 villagers for portering, according to local residents. The soldiers arrived after engaging with a unit from the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) on the morning of the 13th.
One Tadein villager explained, “The soldiers entered after the villagers had run away to hide [after hearing] the battle [on November 13th]. But the villagers reentered the village because they were afraid the Burmese soldiers would burn the village. They were arrested while they were entering, and forced to carry military [supplies] until they reached Chaung Zone village.”
The use of forced porters has been a widely criticized technique of the Burmese army in transporting supplies during conflicts and peacetime alike. In conflict zones Burmese army battalions have been know to use porters as human shields against attack, to setoff ambushes, or to walk over and trigger landmines.
The battalions released the porters on November 15th after arriving at Chaung Zone village. Villagers seized were mostly men, with some over 50 years in age. According to residents from Tadein, the victims of the forced portering were not beaten or tortured during this time.
The next morning on November 16th, LIB No. 284 was attacked by the KNLA and four Burmese soldiers were killed. It is not yet clear if the KNLA suffered any casualties.
Since then, additional Burmese battalions have arrived in Thadein. Burmese LIB No. 410 has currently set up camp outside of Tadein village according to an eyewitness. Villagers have avoided the battalion for fear of additional efforts at forced recruitment of porters and are hiding outside the village.
“About 40 soldiers from LIB No. 410 are at Tadein village,” noted the witness. “That’s why the villagers are hiding – to avoid portering [demands] by the Burmese soldiers.”
According to a Three Pagodas Pass (TPP) resident, fighting at TPP town remains silent, but Burmese soldiers remain camped out along the highway between TPP and Chaung Zone village. The unexpected clash of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) Battalions 907 and 906, against SPDC forces occurred, on November 8th to the 10th, following Burma’s 1st election in 20 years.
