• Burmese
Wednesday, June 18, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
29 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home Opinion Guest Column

Villagers Flee as Specter of War Returns to Northern Karen State

The Irrawaddy by The Irrawaddy
March 30, 2018
in Guest Column
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0 0
A A
Villagers from Moo Joh Koh fled into the jungle during the night a day after hearing the news of fighting between Karen National Liberation Army Brigade 5 and Tatmadaw soldiers that started on 4th March. / Brennan O'Connor

Villagers from Moo Joh Koh fled into the jungle during the night a day after hearing the news of fighting between Karen National Liberation Army Brigade 5 and Tatmadaw soldiers that started on 4th March. / Brennan O'Connor

7.5k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

It was dusk when we arrived in Taw Ku Mu Der. Basking in the golden light of the setting sun, the village located in a valley in Karen State’s mountainous Papun District (or Mutraw, as it is known in Karen) was majestic. Yet, devoid of human presence, only ominous silence remained. Gone were the carefree sounds of children playing, parents chatting on their porches, and farmers washing after a hard day in the fields. Only a handful of animals remained. A few chickens pecking for food under a hut, a goat wandering between houses and a lonely grey cat crouched on a veranda were the only remaining signs of life.

Four families from Taw Ku Mu Der are camped on a mountainside enduring frigid temperatures at night. (Photo / Brennan O’Connor)

Ten days earlier, the people of Taw Ku Mu Der fled into the night. They were running from the Tatmadaw (Myanmar Army) after large numbers of troops were deployed in Lu Thaw Township without warning. Many fled with just the clothes on their backs and a small bundle of possessions.

Taw Ku Mu Der village was abandoned after Tatmadaw moved troops into Karen National Liberation Army Brigade 5 controlled territories. (Photo / Brennan O’Connor)

Six battalions have been deployed into Lu Thaw Township, with orders to secure the area to expand a military road that has been abandoned since 2012. The military road will carve a swath through the forests and lands of local communities, to connect two Tatmadaw mountain bases.

RelatedPosts

ICRC chief Peter Maurer at Sittwe Airport, before leaving Rakhine State. / Min Aung Khine / The Irrawaddy

Visiting ICRC Chief Says Northern Rakhine Needs Urgent Economic Relief

June 29, 2018
5.9k
Rakhine State Chief Minister U Nyi Pu presides over the opening of the NLD’s Second Party Congress on June 22, 2018.

NLD Begins Second Party Congress to Elect New Executive Committee

June 23, 2018
5k
Smoke is seen on Myanmar's side of the border as an exhausted Rohingya refugee is carried to shore after crossing the Bangladesh-Myanmar border by boat through the Bay of Bengal, in Shah Porir Dwip, Bangladesh, in September, 2017. Myanamar is currently considering signing an MOU with the UNHCR and UNDP on repatriating the refugees. / Reuters

Chinese Whispers in Yangon as Myanmar Weighs Rohingya Deal With UN

May 31, 2018
11.6k

“The Tatmadaw have changed their tactics and have a very solid strategy to build a military operations road to make it easier to connect their bases, and transport military supplies,” said Saw Robin Moo, the Karen National Union (KNU) secretary of Papun District.

Families from Taw Ku Mu Der set up makeshift camps depending on directions they fled after Tatmadaw sent troops into the area. (Photo / Brennan O’Connor)

The Tatmadaw violated the terms of the 2015 Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) by moving troops into this area and firing first, Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) Brigade 5 leaders said. Since the Tatmadaw crossed the ceasefire line in early March, armed clashes between their troops and the KNLA have intensified, with battles now occurring daily as Karen troops seek to defend their territory. The KNLA’s political wing, the KNU, signed the NCA with the Tatmadaw, the Union government and seven other groups on Oct. 15, 2015.

The current fighting in Papun has displaced more than 2,000 people from 11 villages located in areas close to the military road. An additional 600 people from five villages have made preparations to flee as a result of the mounting instability. So far, these military operations have caused the largest civilian displacement in Karen State since September 2016, when more than 5,000 people were forced from their homes after the Tatmadaw’s Border Guard Force seized control of the Mae Tha Waw road.

Villagers from Yay Ghoh Loh Der are camped in a mountain valley after fleeing their homes on 5th March. (Photo / Soe Doe)

Since the 2012 bilateral ceasefire between the Myanmar army and the KNU, people have been investing their trust in the ceasefire and hoping for lasting peace after decades of fighting. Yet the recent armed clashes and renewed conflict in Papun District has eroded this fragile trust.

On a mountainside, an hour from Taw Ku Mu Der, villagers were busy preparing their evening meal at a makeshift camp. Dogs and several kittens meandered around their feet anticipating food droppings. Four families camped together, while others set up their own small camps in the forest, locations determined by the direction they fled when the fighting began.

Villagers from Loh  Koh hold a sign in Karen language that says: “We don’t want the Burmese army to make more bases on our land”. After abandoning their village, residents returned to participate in a prayer ceremony and protest organized by Karen Peace Support Network (KPSN). (Photo / Soe Doe)

Since Taw Ku Mu Der was abandoned, villagers have been returning, periodically, to collect precious possessions. Large bags of rice have been stacked on the downward trail leading to the camp.

As night fell, the temperature became frigid and villagers huddled around a fire to keep warm, talking before retiring to bed.

A young girl joined the prayer ceremony and protest in  Loh  Koh, (Photo / Soe Doe)

“We are waiting for the Myanmar army to leave the area,” said 60-year-old Saw Bu Kwae from Boh Nar Der village, also displaced by fighting. His village is located just three minutes walk from the proposed military road.

“We see a lot more troops coming into the area, so we just have to prepare for our food and we (keep) moving a little further (away from the soldiers),” Bu Kwae explained. Weighing heavy on his mind is if he can get back to plough his fields before the planting season starts in early May.

During a prayer ceremony and protest participants imprint their painted hands on a banner calling for genuine peace. (Photo / Soe Doe)

The recent return to conflict has been a recurring concern that has marked much of Saw Bu Kwae’s life. Many of his friends were tortured or killed by the Tatmadaw in the wake of its brutal Four Cuts Policy. During this time, Tatmadaw troops shot their water buffaloes, and, unable to plough their fields, they faced food insecurity, recounted Saw Bu Kwae

As villagers, we have no power to stop the fighting, he said.

The Tatmadaw sent six battalions to secure an area it wants to build a military road that is pictured here. If constructed it will connect two of its mountain bases. (Photo / Brennan O’Connor.)

“I just want our KNU leaders to talk to the NLD (National League for Democracy) government to work out real peace,” he said.

Your Thoughts …
Tags: Communal unrest
The Irrawaddy

The Irrawaddy

...

Similar Picks:

Several thousand Rohingya are encamped behind two barbed-wire fences in northern Maungdaw's Taungpyo Let Wei town. / Moe Myint / The Irrawaddy
Burma

Reporter’s Notebook: Up Close and Personal in Post-Conflict Northern Rakhine State

by Moe Myint
April 9, 2018
4.8k

Local journalists given limited access to crisis-torn region amid accusations remains of Rohingya villages are being bulldozed

Read moreDetails
Villagers fleeing fighting between the Tatmadaw and Kachin Independence Army arrive in Namti town, Kachin State, in April. / Kachin Baptist Convention
Commentary

Rohingya Crisis is Just the Tip of a Dark Iceberg

by Lawi Weng
May 28, 2018
9.1k

International preoccupation with Rakhine means many other grave humanitarian issues in Myanmar are being overlooked

Read moreDetails
Swe Win, an editor at Myanmar Now, appears at court in Mandalay today. / Zaw Zaw / The Irrawaddy
Burma

Prosecution offers to drop charges against Swe Win if he Apologises to U Wirathu

by Lawi Weng
February 13, 2018
5.5k

Editor refuses to back down; says national monk is a threat to the rule of law

Read moreDetails
A 17-year-old mother carries her second child back from a makeshift hospital after receiving a vaccination. / Tuhin Islam
Features

Safe but Stuck — Life Inside a Rohingya Refugee Camp

by Nure Alam Durjoy
January 26, 2018
8k

From the ground, there are few signs that repatriation will begin soon.

Read moreDetails
Members of the security forces are deploy to safeguard a diplomatic tour of Rakhine State's northern Maungdaw Township in October. / Moe Myint / The Irrawaddy
Burma

Muslim village-head killed in Rakhine’s Maungdaw District

by Moe Myint
December 7, 2017
6.3k

Witnesses say attackers were from the same village

Read moreDetails
Family members of some of the suspects wait near the entrance of Sittwe prison on Tuesday. / Min Aung Khine / The Irrawaddy
News

Trial of Mrauk-U Riot Suspects Opens in Special Jailhouse “Court”

by Min Aung Khine
February 21, 2018
3.8k

Authorities worried about security and welfare of suspects, who were wounded by police fire

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post

How Will Myanmar’s Political Landscape Change With a Newly-elected President

Passengers wait at a ferry terminal on the Dala side of the Yangon River. / The Irrawaddy

Analysis: Audiences Embrace New Filmmakers, Cinema Industry Slow to Follow Suit

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

China is Systematically Dismantling Tibetan Monastic Traditions

China is Systematically Dismantling Tibetan Monastic Traditions

2 days ago
1.5k
China’s Bet on Myanmar Junta Risks Backfiring

China’s Bet on Myanmar Junta Risks Backfiring

1 day ago
1.4k

Most Read

  • Timeline: Key Events in the Life of Myanmar’s Daw Aung San Suu Kyi

    Updated Timeline: Key Events in the Life of Myanmar’s Daw Aung San Suu Kyi

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Attacks to Reclaim KIA’s Jade and Rare Earth Strongholds

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • China’s Bet on Myanmar Junta Risks Backfiring

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • China is Systematically Dismantling Tibetan Monastic Traditions

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Israel-Iran Conflict: Latest Developments

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.