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Displaced villagers [Photos B-89, B-90, B-91 and B-92] who fled from their homes at Tar Gkaw Der village, Tar Gkaw Der village tract, Nyaunglebin District, due to SPDC operations in the area are shown here on June 1st 2008 constructing new homes at an internally displaced hiding site located elsewhere in the district. [Photos: KHRG]

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As the rainy season was underway when these photos were taken, the villagers had to work quickly to get some form of shelter up to protect themselves, their food and other supplies from the water.

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Photos B-93 to B-96 show other internally displaced villagers from Tar Gkaw Der and Kheh Der village tracts now living at the same hiding site as those in photos B-89 to B-92 on June 1st 2008. Villagers who choose to live in hiding often have to secretly plant and maintain crops in the hills and construct new homes (like those shown in photos B-93, B-95 and B-97) in order to survive. [Photos: KHRG]

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This group of villagers at D--- village, Dweh Loh Township, Papun District, told KHRG on June 5th 2008 that local SPDC officials demanded 100 thatch shingles from them. However, the villagers were too busy working on their own livelihoods and so decided not to hand over the thatch shingles to the soldiers as demanded. [Photo: KHRG]

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On June 4th 2008, Burma Army troops from Infantry Battalion (IB) #240 attacked and burnt down Day Muh Der (also known as Wa Doh Koh) village [Photos B-99 and B-100], which is situated in Lu Thaw Township of northern Papun District. Local residents, including those from Day Muh Der itself as well as those from the adjacent Htee Hsih Kee village, fled the Burma Army soldiers on the day of the attack. As this occurred during the rainy season, the wet and muddy conditions made flight and evasion particularly difficult for the villagers.

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Burma Army soldiers dumped the supplies shown in photo B-101 on the ground when they ransacked the local church at Day Muh Der village during the attack. Items belonging to the church that were destroyed by the soldiers included four microphones, speakers, two amplifiers, one piano and one guitar.

The soldiers also dumped out the rice shown in photo B-102, which KHRG photographed on June 6th, and set it alight along with the sugar cane juicer, rice storage shed and irrigated agricultural fields of 55-year-old Saw Gk--- during the June 4th attack on Day Muh Der.

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Local villager Saw K--- salvaged rice (shown in photo B-103 on June 6th 2008) in Day Mu Der village from amongst the supplies which SPDC soldiers burnt on June 4th 2008. Also destroyed in SPDC LIB #240's June 4th attack on Day Muh Der village were Saw K---'s rice mill [Photo B-104] and most of the 120 baskets of his rice supplies [Photo B-105] .

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Around many of the IDP hiding sites and other non-SPDC controlled villages in the mountains of northern Karen State, KNLA forces, as well as local villagers, plant landmines around settlements in order to provide security against SPDC patrols. KNLA forces also plant landmines along vehicle roads in the area as a means of ambushing SPDC patrols. Typically, they inform local communities about the locations of mined areas. But, when Day Mu Der villagers fled the SPDC attack on June 4th 2008, they had to leave their livestock and belongings behind. During this time, unable to look after his livestock, a buffalo belonging to Kyaw Soe wandered away from the safe zone near Day Mu Der village and was injured by a KNLA-deployed landmine at a nearby vehicle road. The injured buffalo [Photos B-106 and B-107] then limped back to the burnt down village where it subsequently died. This photograph was taken on June 6th 2008, shortly after the buffalo had died.

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On June 10th 2008, some of the displaced villagers from Day Muh Der and Htee Hsih Kee returned to their abandoned homes in order to collect food and other supplies that were left behind during flight and which escaped destruction and looting by the Burma Army soldiers. Some of the villagers' personal possessions, rice supplies and livestock (including chickens, pigs and goats) were taken away by the departing soldiers. [Photos: KHRG]

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18-year-old Saw B--- is a student from the Kay Bpoo area of Lu Thaw Township. When SPDC soldiers were active in his area, he joined the local village security force and stepped on an SPDC-deployed landmine while patrolling. He is shown here recovering on June 26th 2008 after receiving treatment for the explosion which destroyed the lower part of his left leg. [Photos: KHRG]

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The photos B-117 and B-118 show residents of T'Ree Po Gkwee village, Lu Pleh Township, Pa'an District, planting paddy at Gkyaw Bp'Neh Nee in July 2008 as ordered by DKBA officers. These villagers had to sleep two nights in the field while completing the assigned work. [Photos: KHRG]

These three Karen children sit and play at a displaced hiding site in Tantabin Township of southern Toungoo District. When this photo was taken in July 2008, they were unable to travel to attend school due to ongoing patrols of SPDC Army units in their area. [Photo: KHRG]

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30-year-old Saw Gk---, shown here on July 28th 2008, is a villager from Gk--- village, Dta Greh Township, Pa'an District. On July 19th 2008, Burma Army soldiers from LIB #565, under the command of Hlaing Htun, conscripted Saw Gk--- as a porter. The soldiers forced him to carry a basket of rice [20 kg. / 46.1 lb.] to their army camp. The journey took Saw Gk--- the entire morning and he was only able to return to his village at noon. Saw Gk--- told KHRG that he has had to porter for the Burma Army units numerous times. When doing this work in the rainy season, Saw Gk--- regularly takes cooked rice along as he is never sure if he will be able to return to his village should there be heavy rains. Saw Gk--- said that when he has had to carry particularly heavy loads, his waist has become sore but he has not been able to get any kind of medicine from the soldiers. [Photo: KHRG]

This female buffalo, shown here on July 30th 2008, died after stepping on an SPDC-deployed landmine at Bpaw Gkoo Nweh village in Lu Thaw Township of northern Papun District. The buffalo's calf died shortly afterwards as it was no longer able to get milk from its mother. The buffalo's owner had fled to a hiding site in order to avoid Burma Army soldiers operating in the area. [Photo: KHRG]

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An unexploded mortar shell, photographed on July 30th 2008, fired by Burma Army soldiers based at Htaw Muh Bplaw in Lu Thaw Township, Papun District. [Photo: KHRG]

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Photo B-123 shows a KNLA soldier crouching behind an SPDC-deployed M-14-type blast landmine on July 30th 2008. KNLA soldiers removed this landmine from a villagers' hillside agricultural field on April 20th 2008. Photo B-125 shows another M-14 landmine on August 8th 2008 which KNLA soldiers deployed at Saw Gkeh Hta village on May 16th 2008. The SPDC-deployed M-14 type landmine, shown in Photo B-124 on August 5th 2008, was removed from Htee Bpway Kee village. According to the Landmine Monitor 2007 report, these landmines (copies of the US M-14 'plastic mine') are "manufactured by Myanmar Defense Products Industries at Ngyaung Chay Dauk, in Bago division." Burma Army forces regularly deploy such landmines along roads, forest paths and within village confines following attacks in order to prevent the return of villagers hoping to reclaim their land and belongings. According to one online source, "whilst the blast wound from an M14 is unlikely to be fatal, it usually destroys a significant part of the victim's foot, thereby leading to some form of permanent disability." [Photos: KHRG]

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In August 2008, Burma Army Colonel Yeh Htut ordered the residents of Meh Tha Moo village, Pa'an District to collect 500 bamboo slats, six bamboo poles and four wooden poles and to deliver these to his army unit. The villagers of Meh Tha Moo are shown in the photo to the left on August 31st preparing to deliver the specified items. [Photo: KHRG]

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An elderly woman removes the husk from paddy using a temporary rice pounder set up at a displaced hiding site in Tantabin Township, southern Toungoo District, in August 2008. Due to ongoing Burma Army patrols, the displaced villagers at this site were unable to return to their abandoned village to retrieve their stores of already-husked rice. This photo was taken in the midst of the rainy season and the flimsy plastic sheet covering the rice was unlikely to keep the supplies completely dry. In a normal village that has been established for some time, villagers would have a more permanent and adequate structure under which to pound and store their rice supplies. [Photos: KHRG]

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Due to ongoing Burma Army patrols in the Buh Kee area of southern Tantabin Township, Toungoo District, local villagers were unable to weed their paddy crops, shown here in August 2008. As a result, the crops became overgrown with weeds, threatening the villagers with a wholly or at least partially-failed harvest. [Photos: KHRG]

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Saw M--- displays his injured right hand which was hit by Burma Army gunfire. This photo was taken in August 2008 while Saw M--- was residing in Tantabin Township, southern Toungoo District. [Photos: KHRG]

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A villager in Lu Thaw Township, shown here on August 4th 2008, does small-scale metal forging and welding for other villagers in exchange for husked rice or paddy. [Photos: KHRG]

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When the Burma Army forces withdrew from their camp in T'Moh village tract, Dta Greh Township, Pa'an District, they left this M-26 landmine deployed in the ground. Photographs B-138 to B-143 below show a KNLA soldier removing the landmine from around the abandoned Burma Army camp in T'Moh village tract on August 28th 2008. KHRG field researchers reported that five more landmines were removed by KNLA soldiers in T'Moh village tract during the last week of September 2008.

In a December 2008 correspondence with KHRG, Landmine Monitor provided the following information about the type of mine shown here:

"The mine in the photograph is... a bounding mine. This means when triggered, a small explosive charge blows the mine up from the ground where a much larger explosion takes place at chest height. They are lethal. The mine is an American made M26. Where it came from is a mystery to our experts as they state the mine is extremely rare. The mine which you document being lifted was brand new, and laid by someone who did not understand how it worked. Your photographs showed that it had been laid upside down. Our experts noted that one of your pictures showed that the arming pin in place, so the mine was probably not armed. The internal trip wire spool in the base of the mine was still in storage position, and the tripwire lever was also in its storage position. Despite that, if armed correctly, the M26 is extremely dangerous and can also function on pressure."

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For more information regarding this and other landmines deployed in T'Moh village tract, Dta Greh Township, see the report Human minesweeping and forced relocation as SPDC and DKBA step up joint operations in Pa'an District, KHRG, October 2008.

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B-145 [To watch the video click here.]

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In the video above, villagers from Meh T'Moo village and Htee Pah Reh village tract do forced labour by delivering bamboo poles to the Burma Army camp at Gklaw Gk'Dtee on September 1st 2008. [Video: KHRG]

The photo above shows SPDC-sponsored forced labour as T'Ree Poh Gkwee villagers deliver 350 bamboo slats to the SPDC army camp at Gklaw Gk'Dtih, Pa'an District on August 31st 2008. [Photo: KHRG]

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Displaced villagers at a hiding site in Tantabin Township prepare to return [photo B-146] to their former village in order to collect rice supplies left behind when they earlier fled from Burma Army patrols. In photo B-147 on September 5th 2008, a column of villagers travel back to their village together with an escort of KNLA soldiers for protection. [Photos: KHRG]

On August 29th 2008, SPDC LIB #256 (under the authority of LID #101), led by battalion commander Kyaw Kyaw, headed out on patrol from the SPDC army camp at Meh Way in Papun District. On August 30th at approximately 8:00 am, these troops came across a displaced hiding site in the area of Meh Bpaw Kee. While marching across one of the hillside farm fields at this site, the soldiers spotted a field hut [Photo B-148] in which a group of displaced villagers were taking rest. [Photos: KHRG]

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The soldiers fired on the hut and those inside fled. Holes left in the hut by SPDC bullets are visible in photos B-149, B-150 and B-151. An SPDC bullet hit 39-year-old Saw Myit Thay, one of the villagers, behind the ear. The bullet passed through his head and exited through his eye. Saw Myit Thay died on the spot. Photo B-152 shows the spot - stained with blood - where Saw Myit Thay was shot and killed (as photographed on September 11th 2008).

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The other remaining villagers, including 50-year-old Naw R---, her 20-year-old daughter Naw A---, three of her grandchildren, and her son-in-law Saw P--- likewise tried to flee the hut. However, as the SPDC soldiers fired on the fleeing villagers, they hit Naw R---'s granddaughter, 9-year-old Naw Ree Htoo. The bullet split open Naw Ree Htoo's head and she died on the spot. The villagers then stopped running and the SPDC soldiers ordered them to sit on the ground.

At this time, Naw R---'s other daughter, 25-year-old Naw B---, who had been away at her farm field, returned to the hut where she was spotted by the soldiers and ordered to likewise sit down on the ground. The soldiers then proceeded to ransack the hut (photos B-153, B-154 and B-155) taking with them 37,000 kyat [US $33.94] in cash and three packets of baby milk powder which they found inside. After finishing with the hut, the soldiers ordered Naw R---, her two daughters and two surviving grandchildren to follow them on their patrol. The villagers were made to follow the soldiers for two days before being released.

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The bodies of Naw Ree Htoo and Saw Myit Thay - who had been shot dead during the attack - were left exposed at the hut until KNDO soldiers arrived three days later and buried them next to the hut. The gravesite of Saw Myit Thay is shown in Photo B-156, that of Naw Ree Htoo in Photo B-157 and both together in photo B-158. Photo B-159 shows the casings from the bullets fired at the hut on August 30th that were later retrieved from the site of the incident. [Photos: KHRG]

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Displaced villagers prepare to cross a vehicle road in Tantabin Township, southern Toungoo District, together with an escort of KNLA soldiers on September 11th 2008. The soldiers provide security and coordinate the crossing because Burma Army troops operating in this area target displaced civilians with a shoot-on-sight policy. [Photos: KHRG]

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B-164 [To watch the video click here.]

As a result of these combined pressures, some relocated residents (including the family shown here on October 14th 2008) fled Htee Bper village and headed by boat for an IDP camp elsewhere in Pa'an District. For more information on the destruction of Htee Bper Kee village and related forced relocation, see Human minesweeping and forced relocation as SPDC and DKBA step up joint operations in Pa'an District. [Photos: KHRG]

This family originally hailed from Htee Bper Kee village, Dta Greh Township, Pa'an District. However, following skirmishes between KNLA and DKBA troops nearby, soldiers from DKBA Special Battalion #999 burnt down Htee Bper Kee village on October 7th 2008 and ordered the residents to relocate to nearby Htee Bper village. After relocating to Htee Bper, these villagers no longer had access to their agricultural fields or plantations and furthermore had to do forced labour in the construction of a new DKBA camp adjacent to the village. [Video: KHRG]

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In Photos B-165 and B-166 above, Sih Daw Koh villagers harvest paddy crops on a hillside agricultural field at a displaced hiding site in Toungoo District on November 7th 2008. Due to ongoing Burma Army operations near their homes at Sih Daw Koh, these villagers were unable to remain in their village and cultivate crops on the nearby fields. The hillside fields at this displacement site are of poorer quality and produce crops in fewer quantities than those at their home villages.

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Saw L--- [Photos B-167 and B-168], a 45-year-old villager from Sih Daw Koh village tract, Tantabin Township, southern Toungoo District, shown here on November 7th 2008. Saw L--- was out in his fields harvesting his paddy crop when Burma Army soldiers from LIB #56 spotted him and shot him through his right leg. The soldiers then ordered Saw L--- to accompany them on their patrol. After staying one night with the patrol, the soldiers released Saw L--- and he was able to reach a hospital in Toungoo District where medics treated his injured leg. [Photos: KHRG]

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Naw S--- and her baby boy, internally displaced villagers in Toungoo District, spoke to KHRG on November 7th 2008. Burma Army soldiers shot Naw S---'s husband, Saw Gkoh Dtroh, on October 30th 2008 when he was checking the security situation at a vehicle road near his abandoned village. He was attempting to return to collect belongings left behind when he and his family earlier fled to evade Burma Army patrols. [Photo: KHRG]

Saw M---, a 35-year-old villager from Play Hsa Loh village tract, Tantabin Township, recovers at a hospital in Toungoo District on November 7th 2008 after treatment for his injured right leg.

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Saw M--- was walking to his cardamom plantation on September 25th 2008 when he stepped on an SPDC landmine which Burma Army soldiers had deployed within the plantation area. The mine destroyed the lower portion of Saw M---'s right leg. [Photos: KHRG]

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Photo B-173 shows a KNLA soldier removing a makeshift tripwire mine encountered in Pa'an District in November 2008. The mine [Photo B-172], deployed by DKBA forces earlier in 2008, was made from a hand grenade strapped to a small tree with elastic bands. The nylon cord tied to the grenade's draw pin and stretched out across a forest path serves as a tripwire. Photo B-174 shows the retrieved grendade alongside two unexploded mortar shells that KNLA soldiers also retrieved from the area. [Photos: KHRG]

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DKBA soldiers fired this Chinese-made Type-69 RPG (Rocket Propelled Grenade) at Htee Ber Kee village, Dta Greh Township, Pa'an District, in October 2008 after ordering local residents to relocate to DKBA-controlled Htee Ber village. DKBA forces receive these Chinese-made Type-69 RPGs (which are a variant of the Soviet RPG-7) from the SPDC. DKBA soldiers fired two or three similar RPGs at Htee Ber Kee village each day for a week following forced relocation orders. This particular RPG failed to explode and was photographed by KHRG on November 28th 2008. [Photos: KHRG; disregard incorrect date printed on the photo]

This photo, taken on November 27th 2008, shows a water buffalo belonging to a villager in Dta Greh Township. The buffalo stepped on a DKBA-deployed landmine and subsequently died. [Photo: KHRG]

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This landmine - made by hand from a block of wood, gun powder and battery-powered detonator - was deployed by DKBA soldiers from Special Battalion #999 in Dta Greh Township. It was subsequently retrieved and photographed by KHRG in January 2009. [Photo: KHRG]