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Forced Labour
/ Attacks on Villages /
Detention & Torture
Shooting & Killings /
Flight & Displacement
Landmines / Soldiers / Children
/ Food
[Clicking on the sample photos shown in the introduction below will take you to the description of that photo. Clicking on a thumbnail above a photo description will provide an enlargement of the photo. It is recommended that you view this set with your web browser window maximised.]
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The rise in the use of landmines in Burma, particularly in Karen areas, has become a major problem for villagers in rural areas. Villagers throughout the Karen areas, whether internally displaced or living in their villages, are speaking more and more of their fear of landmines. Refugees in Thailand also talk of their reluctance to go home because of their fear of the landmines that may have been planted in their fields. There are few villages in Karen State which have not lost at least one villager to landmines. Hospitals on both sides of the Burma-Thai border and mobile medical teams inside Burma report treating greatly increased numbers of landmine victims each year. But these are only the people who are able to get medical attention, as most landmine victims die before they can be carried to help.
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The SPDC
regime in Burma has not signed the international treaty to ban the use of
landmines, and the SPDC Army and most resistance forces use landmines
extensively.
Prior to 1995, landmine use
by both the SLORC/SPDC and the KNLA was mainly confined to defending the
perimeter of camps and triggering ambushes. Upon losing much of its territory
between 1995 and 1997, the KNLA became a much smaller force using mobile
guerrilla tactics. It made up for the numerical inferiority and the lack of
secure areas by increasing its reliance on landmines to protect base areas and
supply lines, and to harass SPDC troops and restrict their movements and
supplies by mining pathways and roads. Most of the KNLA's landmines are self-produced and usually
consist of a length of piping stuffed with gunpowder or explosives and scrap
metal or shotgun pellets and attached to a small detonator powered by a cheap
battery (see Photos #F12 and 13, F17). The laying of the mines is never mapped
and they are never cleared. KNLA units usually tell local villagers which
paths are mined but this information does not always spread quickly enough and
many villagers have been killed or maimed by KNLA landmines (see Photo #F36).
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The SPDC has also rapidly increased its use of landmines. The regime previously used Chinese and American-made landmines, but since the Chinese government supplied the SPDC with a factory to build its own landmines domestically, the regime has become a producer as well as a user. At least two types of landmines are produced by the SPDC: the MM-1 and the MM-2. The MM-1 is a copy of the Chinese-made PMOZ-2 or 'corncob' mine, and the MM-2 is a copy of the Chinese-made PMN mine; both of which were used extensively in Cambodia (see the photos under The Mines below). The MM-1 is buried with just the top of the detonator, topped by a small activation button, is at ground level, and can also be attached to a tripwire or rigged as a booby-trap. The MM-2 mine is buried with the flat surface of the mine, which is the activation surface, is at ground level. The MM-1 mine is more powerful than the MM-2. The SPDC is now laying thousands of these landmines throughout the Karen areas, particularly in the Dawna mountains of eastern Pa'an District and the mountains of Toungoo District. SPDC landmine use far exceeds that of the KNLA or the DKBA. SPDC troops often lay landmines on paths that are used by the villagers and do not tell them about it because they believe the villagers will tell the KNLA.
Villagers, however, are often not simply the accidental victims of landmines intended to kill resistance soldiers, but are themselves the targets of the landmines. SPDC units mine the sites of villages that they have relocated or destroyed in order to keep the villagers from returning to the site as well as mining the surrounding hill fields so the villagers will be unable to harvest their crops (see Photos #F7 and F8, F22, F28 through F33). In many areas SPDC troops routinely force their porters to march in front of them as human mine detectors. Women and children are sometimes forced to ride on trucks carrying SPDC supplies in order to discourage the resistance forces from mining the roads. Many villagers have fled their villages out of fear of stepping on landmines when they are forced to go as porters (see Photos #F35, A58 and A59, A70). Villagers are also often forced to sweep roads for anti-vehicle mines either manually or by driving bullock carts loaded with rocks, or with the village women and children, over them. Villagers are routinely ordered to clear wide 'killing grounds' on either side of roads to prevent resistance forces from crossing the roads or mining them. Villagers are sometimes killed during these 'mine clearance' operations (see Photos #F26 and F27).
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The DKBA produces landmines similar to the
ones used by the KNLA. KHRG researchers have also reported that some of
the mines used by the DKBA are supplied to them by the SPDC. The DKBA
places many of its mines around their camps, but they have also placed them
around villages, particularly in Pa'an District, in an attempt to confine the
villagers to their villages. The villagers are not told where the mines
are, only that they have been placed 'around' the village, and many villagers have
been killed or maimed by DKBA mines while going to their fields or watching over their cattle
(see Photos #F14 through F17, F18 and
F19, F20 and F21, F37 and F38).
Most of the victims of the landmines are
villagers, particularly those who are internally displaced. Pa'an,
Toungoo, Papun and Dooplaya Districts are the worst affected. SPDC
soldiers, porters used as human minesweepers and KNLA soldiers, in that order,
follow far behind.
The photos in this section have been divided into two subsections: The Mines, showing the types of anti-personnel landmines being used, and The Victims, showing the effects of the landmines on villagers. For more details on landmine use see KHRG Information Update #2002-U5 (25/9/02), KHRG Information Update #2002-U4 (7-9-2002), KHRG Information Update #2002-U3 (5/4/02), KHRG Information Update #2002-U1 (30-1-2002), "Flight, Hunger and Survival" (KHRG, October 2001), "Starving Them Out" (KHRG, March 2000), "Peace Villages and Hiding Villages" (KHRG, October 2000), "Beyond All Endurance" (KHRG, December 1999), "Caught in the Middle" (KHRG, September 1999), and photos on the subject from previous KHRG photo sets.
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F1 |
Photo #F1: An SPDC-manufactured MM2 landmine laid by soldiers of TOC #333, LID #33 when they came to Kyu Po Kee village, Papun District. Not too long after this mine was removed another one was found by villagers beside one of the dikes in the fields around the village. The MM2 is possibly the SPDC’s most widely used landmine. They are produced in factories in Burma built by the Chinese government in the mid-1990’s. [Photo: KHRG researcher]
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| F2 | F3 |
Photos #F2, F3: Photo #F2 shows SPDC landmines removed by KNLA soldiers in northern Papun District in February 2002. The two landmines on the left are US-made M-76A1 mines used extensively by SPDC soldiers, while the mine on the right is a Burmese-made MM1 landmine. The stenciling on the leftmost landmine reads "LTM-76 / AP [anti-personnel] mine / D1 Lot-133-91", while the second M76A1 mine reads "Lot-131-88". MM1 mines, produced by factories in Burma are gradually replacing the M-76A1. Both mines can be set off by pressure or rigged as tripwire booby-traps. The MM2 landmines in Photo #F3 were laid by LIB #117 and removed in August 2001. [Photos: KHRG researcher]
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| F4 | F5 |
Photos #F4, F5: These SPDC landmines were removed by KNLA soldiers in Saw Mu Plaw village tract of northern Papun District in 2001. Photo #F4 shows a Burmese-made MM2 mine. The US-made M76A1 mine in Photo #F5 is labelled “Lot-29/83”. [Photos: KHRG researcher]
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| F6 |
Photo #F6: Burmese-made MM2 landmines recovered by KNLA soldiers in Toungoo District. [Photo: KHRG researcher]
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| F7 | F8 |
Photos #F7, F8: A KNLA soldier removes one of the landmine laid in Toungoo District by soldiers of IB’s #53, 264 and 30. The soldiers reportedly laid 20 mines in the area, but the KNLA was only able to locate six of them. The day before this photo was taken, March 23rd 2002, two villagers were killed when they stepped on two of the mines (see Photos F28 through F33) laid on a path. Photo #F8 shows two of the MM2 mines removed by the KNLA. [Photos: KHRG researcher]
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| F9 |
Photo #F9: SPDC landmines that were removed by KNLA soldiers in Papun District. These mines were laid by LIB #257 in 2002. [Photo: KHRG researcher]
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| F10 |
Photo #F10: Two SPDC-manufactured MM-2 landmines removed by KNDO [paramilitary militia attached to the KNLA] soldiers in northern Papun District in March 2002. One mine was found near Loh Koh Ler village and the other near Htee Khaw Day village. These mines were laid by soldiers of SPDC LIB #259. [Photo: KHRG researcher]
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F11 |
Photo #F11: KNLA soldiers in southeastern Pa’an District remove a landmine laid by SPDC or DKBA soldiers. The landmines were laid on paths the villagers use to find vegetables in the forest. Villagers often report landmines that they find in their villages or along paths to KNLA units who then go and remove them. Many more landmines lie buried beneath the earth in Karen State and are not found until villagers step on them and are killed or maimed as a result. This photo was taken in November 2001. [Photo: KHRG researcher]
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| F12 | F13 |
Photos #F12, F13: KNLA soldiers patrolling the xxxx area found this SPDC landmine near the hill fields of internally displaced villagers and removed it. The mine is made with two lengths of blue pipe. The bigger section is packed with gunpowder and the smaller section contains a small battery. They are then tied together and placed in a tarpaulin bag. The mine was then put in a hole in the ground and covered with dirt and leaves. The SPDC usually uses factory manufactured landmines or those that it buys internationally. This type of landmine is very typical of those used by both the KNLA and the DKBA. [Photos: KHRG researcher]
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| F14 | F15 | F16 | F17 |
Photos #F14, F15, F16, F17: DKBA landmines being removed from the flat fields and along a path near xxxx village in Pa'an District during July 2002. The mines are made out of pipe and filled with gunpowder. Photo #F17 shows one of the mines in more detail. A small battery is used to power the detonator. [Photos: KHRG researcher]
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B59 |
B60 |
Photo #B59, B60: Deserted houses in K’Law Lu village, Pa’an District, after DKBA soldiers forced the villagers to leave the village in October 2001 and burned some of the houses. The DKBA laid landmines in the village after the villagers left and now the villagers are afraid to go back. [Photo: KHRG researcher]
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| F18 | F19 |
Photos #F18, F19: Naw P---, a 21 year old married hill field farmer from xxxx village, Thaton District. At 7 o’clock in the morning on June 6th 2001, she stepped on a DKBA landmine while walking to her hill field. Her right leg was blown off and her left leg wounded by the mine. She says her ability to work her field and get enough food for her family is now seriously impaired. [Photos: KHRG researcher]
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| F20 | F21 |
Photos #F20, F21: DKBA and SPDC soldiers planted many landmines around Ker Ghaw village in T’Nay Hsah township of Pa’an District during 2001. On September 15th 2001, Saw Wah Po from Kaw Kli village stepped on one of the landmines and was killed while going to his hill field. He was 16 years old. [Photos: KHRG researcher]
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Warning: This photo is graphic.
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| F22 |
Photo #F22: Saw P--- is a 24 year old farmer from xxxx village, Toungoo District. He is married and has one child. A KHRG researcher in the area reported that Captain Thet Oo, operations commander of Strategic Operations Command #3, Southern Command, ordered IB #53 under Major Aung Ko Lin to lay a lot of landmines in the area. On March 22nd 2002, Saw P--- stepped on one of the mines while coming back from visiting yyyy village. This photo was taken at a KNU clinic the next day. His left foot was blown off and he also lost one testicle and his left index finger. [Photo: KHRG researcher]
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Warning: These photos are graphic.
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| F23 | F24 | F25 |
Photos #F23, F24, F25: Saw P---, 37 years old from xxxx village, stepped on a landmine laid by IB #53 while going to visit his plantation in Toungoo District. He stepped on the landmine on March 6th 2002 at about 8:15 in the morning. The lower portion of his right leg was blown off by the landmine and his left leg injured. These photos were taken on the same day at yyyy village where he was injured. [Photos: KHRG researcher]
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Warning: These photos are graphic.
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| F26 | F27 |
Photos #F26, F27: SPDC soldiers under deputy battalion commander Aung Ko Lay of IB #53 laid landmines throughout the Kaw Thay Der area in early 2002. On on April 2nd 2002 Naw L---, a 25 year old xxxx villager, was ordered by deputy company commander K--- to cut the brush beside the Kler Lah-Bu Sah Kee road. While she was doing this she stepped on one of the landmines just before noon. Her lower left leg was blown off, her right one was mangled, her hands were injured and she was blinded by the shrapnel. She died at 2 o’clock the same afternoon. The photo was taken the same day. [Photos: KHRG researcher]
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Warning: These photos are graphic.
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| F28 | F29 | F30 |
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| F31 | F32 | F33 |
Photos #F28, F29, F30, F31, F32, F33: Saw A--- (Photos #F28 and F29), 37 years old, and Saw H--- (Photos #F30 and F31), 14 years old, were going to buy food in xxxx village on March 22nd 2002 with 18 other villagers from yyyy village. At 6:40 in the morning they stepped on landmines at zzzz on a path beside the xxxx River in Toungoo District. The landmines had been laid by SPDC Infantry Battalions #53, 264 and 30. Both men died immediately. These photos were taken on March 23rd 2002. Photo #F33 shows Saw N--- (on the left), a 12 year old, fifth standard student, whose father, Saw A---, was killed by the landmines. Photos #F28 through F31 were taken where the men actually died, while photo #F32 shows the bodies together in preparation for burial. [Photos: KHRG researcher]
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Warning: This photo is graphic.
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| F34 |
Photo #F34: This villager was wounded by shrapnel from a landmine in Nyaunglebin District in February 2002. [Photo: KHRG researcher]
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| F35 |
Photo #F35: Saw A---, 30 years old, is a villager from xxxx village in Bu Tho township of Papun District. Column #1 of LIB #102 came to his village and forced him to go as a porter, and on March 1st 2002, he stepped on a landmine near yyyy village in Papun District. The soldiers left him under a house with one of his friends and continued on. After three days, patrolling KNLA soldiers found them and took him to a clinic. This photo was taken on June 26th 2002. [Photo: KHRG researcher]
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F36 |
Photo #F36: Saw K---, 35 years old, was injured by a KNLA landmine in August 2002 in Papun District. Luckily the injury was minor and he did not lose his leg. This photo was taken when he went to seek treatment at a KNU clinic with his wife and child. This photo was taken in August 2002 and not in January 1998 as imprinted on the photo. [Photo: KHRG researcher]
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Warning: These photos are graphic.
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| F37 | F38 |
Photos #F37, F38: Naw N--- is a 15 year old girl from xxxx village in Pa’an District. DKBA #999 Brigade soldiers under yyyy camp commander S--- and commander P--- laid landmines beside the zzzz flat fields. Naw N--- told a KHRG researcher that she had gone to take care of the buffaloes in June 2002 beside the zzzz flat fields. At 10 o’clock in the morning she went to find some vegetables to eat. When she went under a tree by the fields she stepped on the landmine. [Photos: KHRG researcher]
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| A58 | A59 |
Photos #A58, A59: Villagers in Toungoo District before going to porter for the SPDC on the Kler Lah-Bu Sah Kee car road in March 2002. Villagers in this area are forced to porter supplies for the SPDC Army down this road in both the rainy and the dry seasons. Villagers are routinely forced to walk in front of the soldiers along this road as human mine sweepers and the road has become notorious for the number of villagers who have been killed or maimed by landmines while portering along it. [Photos: KHRG researcher]
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A70 |
Photo #A70: Naw D--- lives in xxxx village, eastern Papun District. She is a 27 year old married Karen Buddhist hill field farmer. SPDC troops of LIB #xx, LID #xx came to her village in early March 2002 and took the villagers’ belongings. They also took Naw D---'s husband and forced him to porter for them for two days. He stepped on a landmine while portering. He was not given any medical treatment by the SPDC soldiers. [Photo: KHRG researcher]
Go to Photo Home Page / KHRG Home Page / Top / Table of Contents
Forced Labour /
Attacks on Villages /
Detention & Torture
Shootings & Killings /
Flight & Displacement
Landmines / Soldiers /
Children / Food
The continued expansion of the SPDC Army, the Tatmadaw, necessitates an inflow of a large number of recruits each year, however, very few people are interested in joining the Tatmadaw. In order to keep the numbers up the SPDC has increasingly relied on coercion and conscription to get new 'recruits'. Many of those brought in to the Army's recruit processing centres are children between the ages of 13 and 17, with some as young as 10. Although told that the term of enlistment is 10 years, in reality soldiers are not allowed to leave the Army even after that time unless they can bring in 5 to 10 new recruits. Battalion commanders assign some of their soldiers special duty to gather recruits, and those bringing in recruits are usually paid one to five thousand Kyat and a sack of rice per recruit. Soldiers hang around schools and markets with the aim of tricking teenage boys into joining the Army. Some recruiters offer the teenagers employment only to take them to recruiting centres and sell them to the Army. Police and soldiers stop boys and accuse them of conspiracy or of not carrying the necessary identity card and then offer them the choice of imprisonment or joining the Army.
The recruits are sent off to training, where they are cut off from the outside world and the brutal world of the Army is presented to them. When the training is finished they are sent to units in the field. At these units the officers steal much of their pay and sell off their rations. They then force the soldiers to steal much of their food from the local villagers. In addition to their normal duties such as sentry duty, soldiers are often required to serve the officers as servants or to work on projects such as brick baking or fish farming. In the field, even the most minor infractions of the rules are punished with brutal beatings. Many soldiers abuse the porters to get them moving out of fear of the punishment that will be meted out to them if they do not arrive on time. Many of the soldiers do not approve of the human rights abuses that they are forced to commit, but feel that they have no choice. Suicide is common, and the desertion rate in the Army is soaring even though soldiers fear arrest for desertion and are told by their officers that resistance forces will kill them if they catch them. For more details on life in the SPDC Army see "Abuse Under Orders" (KHRG #2001-01, 27/3/01).
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G1 |
Photo #G1: M--- is an SPDC deserter who was able to escape the Army. He told KHRG researchers that the SPDC officers kill the soldiers in addition to the porters if they do something wrong. [Photo: KHRG researcher]
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| G2 |
Photo #G2: S---, a 17 year old Shan from xxxx township in Shan State, was arrested by SPDC soldiers of LIB #xxx in his hill field in June 2001 and forced to porter for them. When they went back to their camp 25 of the 30 porters were released, but the five who were 16 and younger were kept and forced to join the Army. He was then sent to a training camp. After training he was assigned to LIB #xxx. He eventually was able to escape from the battalion during operations in Nyaunglebin District in December 2001. After this photo was taken he attempted to cross the border into Thailand and was arrested by the Thai military. He has not been heard from since, and may have been handed over to SPDC authorities as a deserter. [Photo: KHRG researcher]
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| G3 |
Photo #G3: M---, 17 years old, was a soldier with LIB #xxx in xxxx. A Burman, he lived in yyyy outside zzzz town before he joined the Army. The battalion, under Battalion Commander S--- was operating in Toungoo District when M--- deserted in early 2002. Note the poor state of his uniform. This photo was taken in January 2002. [Photo: KHRG researcher]
Forced Labour
/ Attacks on Villages /
Detention & Torture
Shootings & Killings /
Flight & Displacement
Landmines / Soldiers /
Children / Food
Go to Photo Home Page / KHRG Home Page / Top / Table of Contents