Myanmar: Fighting: Guerrilla conflicts continue unabated

(20 Mar 2001) Natural Sound
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As efforts to break the political deadlock in Myanmar continue in the capital, the country's remaining guerrilla conflicts continue unabated.

The main ethnic rebel force, the Karen, are resuming hit-and-run attacks against government troops, taking advantage of the dry season to penetrate deep into the interior from their border bases.

The Karen were fiercely loyal to the British during the Second World War, but never got the autonomy they expected when Myanmar became independent in 1948.

With a moment of solemn Christian prayer, the men from the Karen National Liberation Army's Third Brigade prepare for a two month, long-range patrol.

With the end of the rains they're once again able to move freely through the jungles and mountains of the region they've disputed with the government for more than fifty years.

Their hopes of victory through arms faded long ago; Yangon's forces are too far strong.

But their two thousand or so battle-hardened fighters keep up regular harassment of troop columns and isolated outposts.

The patrol creeps to within a few hundred metres of one such base.

At this distance it's an easy target for a skilled man.

There's only five or six soldiers in the garrison and they flee at the first sounds of fire.

A final round from the rocket-launcher, and a burst of fire from an assault rifle, and the engagement's over.

Radio intercepts later reveal that three of the defenders were injured.

It's typical of the guerrilla war the Karen are waging in their pursuit of autonomy.

So too are the planned ambushes that never happen.

It's to be a frustrating two months for Third Brigade's patrol.

Here a soldier goes forward to mine a road.

They expect to catch a column of Myanmar troops as they come down it. It should be a straightforward hit-and-run attack.

But as the hours pass they realise their enemy has taken a different route.

It's to happen several more times as they push further inland.

It isn't just soldiers who are caught up in the war.

This group of 70 families is hiding after Myanmar troops approached their villages.

Human Rights groups say government forces routinely burn homes and kill civilians, to try to deny a support base for the rebels in the countryside.

Thousands are said to be displaced inside Karen state.

About one hundred thousand are in refugee camps in Thailand.

Eventually the unit pushes about 150 kilometres in from the Thai border, down into the lowlands.

They split into three groups and prepare to spring an ambush on an enemy patrol.

It's almost certainly a surprise attack. So far from the border, this is not the KNLA's usual turf.

As the firing tails off, there's confusion.

The troops move down to the road but no one knows what's happening further on.

They try to contact the other two groups which were planning to strike at different points but get no response.

On the road, they're exposed, and clearly on edge.

About a kilometre away they spot an explosion.

There's another blast and they hurriedly pull back.

Later they learn that six enemy soldiers were either killed or wounded in the ambush, but the blast they saw had been against their own troops.

Three of the KNLA patrol were wounded.

They had to walk for three painful days before they got back to their brigade base.

As the dry season takes hold in Karen State, the seemingly endless guerrilla war has begun again.

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