Burmese Troops Enter Thailand To Raid Refugee Camp Soldiers Forced Back By Thai Border Workers

Burmese soldiers crossed into Thailand on Thursday, trying to raid a makeshift refugee camp housing thousands of ethnic Karens, but Thai troops halted the operation.

About 2,300 refugees had taken shelter at an abandoned tin mine at Pu Nam Rawn, an hour’s drive west of Kanchanaburi, 70 miles west of Bangkok.

The Burmese troops ran into a group of Thai self-defense volunteers and opened fire before retreating. Regular Thai troops later took positions to protect the refugee camp.

In the past week, the border opposite Kanchanaburi has been transformed into the southern front of Burma’s offensive to stamp out the Karen National Union, which has battled the Rangoon government for more autonomy since 1949.

The Burmese army is using an estimated 100,000 troops to crush 2,500 Karen rebels and allies along the rugged border. Private aid groups say 40 Karen fighters have been killed in the past week and 200 Burmese soldiers were wounded or killed.

Some 15,000 Karens have been allowed into Thailand since Burma’s latest offensive began Feb 11. They have joined about 90,000 Karen and other refugees who have lived in Thai camps for years.

But in recent days, Thailand has reversed its decades-old practice of giving refuge to the Karens. Border relief groups and Thai media report that as many as 5,000 refugees have been turned back toward Burma.

“We are deeply concerned by the reports, which we have confirmed,” said a U.S. Embassy spokesman who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Television footage showed Karen refugees - mostly women, children and the elderly - being trucked to the border Wednesday and handed over to Burmese officials.

Thai military officials do not want Karen guerrillas to operate from their soil and claim to have received guarantees from the Burmese for the safety of returning refugees. The rebels say the Thais are working with the Burmese to wipe them out.

The refugees fear both the fighting and the Burmese policy of pacifying their region by forcibly relocating villages. Human rights groups accuse the army of random execution, rape and slave labor.