A civil society group representing ethnic Shan communities in Kachin State said it plans to conduct a survey of alleged human rights abuses committed by Kachin rebels during the ongoing civil conflict in northern Burma. According to a report by the Democratic Voice of Burma, the Shan Ethnic Affairs Organization will survey 800 villages to document abuses it says have been committed by both government troops and the Kachin Independence Army, including extortion, forced recruitment, rape and torture. There are an estimated 300,000 ethnic Shans living in Kachin State, comprising roughly a quarter of the state’s population.
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