In November 2010 the first national elections since 1990 were held in Myanmar. While
the party set up by the previous government and the armed forces retain most legislative
and executive power, the elections may nevertheless have opened up a window of
opportunity for greater civilian governance and power-sharing. At the same time, recent
fighting between opposition non-state armed groups (NSAGs) and government forces in
Kayin/Karen, Kachin, and Shan States, which displaced many within eastern Myanmar and

This report includes a situation update submitted to KHRG in November 2011 by a villager living in a hiding site in northern Lu Thaw Township, Papun District. The villager described an incident that occurred in October 2011 in which Tatmadaw soldiers fired six mortar shells into an area in which civilians are actively seeking to avoid attacks by Tatmadaw troops; no one was killed or injured during the attack.

Executive summary:

KEY DEVELOPMENTS:

* The Burma Army is currently attacking within six miles of Mai Ja Yang, a city in Kachin State that is a refuge for over 1,000 displaced people
* The Burma Army is firing an average of 100 mortar rounds per day into this area and is receiving reinforcements.
* Over 40,000 Kachin people now displaced by attacks and more are preparing to run

This report contains a situation update submitted to KHRG in April 2011 and written by a villager describing events occurring in Lu Pleh and Dta Greh townships in Pa'an District between February and April 2011. It contains information on incidents of forced labour by the Tatmadaw, including the use of villagers to build huts, deliver palm leaves for thatching buildings and provide unpaid forced labour during gold-mining and logging operations.

Chapter Navigation

Internally displaced persons (IDPs) returning to their former villages are being sued for trespass by the Asia World and Shwe Padonmar companies who claim the land was given to them for palm oil plantations…

Burmese troops burned down around 50 homes in a village in eastern Kachin state two days ago as they prepare for an offensive against the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), despite assertions from fleeing residents that no rebels inhabit the village.

In response, the KIA has told locals living in areas close to the town of Waingmaw to leave, prompting some 3,000 people to join those who fled the razed Aungja village as they make for the border with China.

This report contains the full transcript of an interview conducted by a KHRG researcher in August 2011. The KHRG researcher interviewed Saw K---, a 30-year-old medic with the Backpack Health Worker Team (BPHWT), an organisation that provides health care and medical assistance to displaced civilians inside Burma. Saw K--- described witnessing a joint attack by Tatmadaw soldiers from three different battalions on a civilian settlement in Ma No Roh village tract, Te Naw Th'Ri Township, Tenasserim Division in January 2011.

KEY DEVELOPMENTS:

"While ceasefire negotiations are taking place in some ethnic areas, attacks continue in Kachin State, Northern Burma. The Burma Army is pressing its attacks in Kachin State with over 100 battalions deployed. There are over 50,000 Kachin people displaced, over 60 Kachin civilians killed and 100 Kachin soldiers killed. Burma Army casualties are unknown, but estimated at 1,000 wounded and killed. Along with the KIO, WPN, Partners and other organizations, the Kachin FBR teams are helping those in need

Summary:
"In June 2012, deadly sectarian violence erupted in western Burma’s Arakan State between
ethnic Arakan Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims (as well as non-Rohingya Muslims). The
violence broke out after reports circulated that on May 28 an Arakan woman was raped and
killed in the town of Ramri allegedly by three Muslim men. Details of the crime were
circulated locally in an incendiary pamphlet, and on June 3, a large group of Arakan
villagers in Toungop stopped a bus and brutally killed 10 Muslims on board. Human Rights

This report contains 12 incident reports written by a villager trained by KHRG to monitor human rights conditions, based on information provided by 12 different villagers living in hiding sites in Lu Thaw Township, Papun District between November 2010 and January 2011.[1] The twelve villagers described human rights concerns for civilians prior to and during displacement to their current hiding sites, including: deliberate firing of mortars and small arms into civilian areas; burning and destruction of houses, food and food preparation equipment; theft and looting of villagers' animals and p