Source: Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC); http://www.internal-displacement.org/idmc/website/news.nsf/(httpIDPNewsAlerts)/D6AD5C955F934F58C12575D2005C54B5?OpenDocument#anchor3

MYANMAR: KAREN IDPS FLEE INTO THAILAND TO ESCAPE FIGHTING

Over 1,200 ethnic Karen IDPs have fled from eastern Myanmar to Thailand after their camp was attacked by the army. The IDPs had been displaced from their areas of origin by previous combat and human rights violations, and had since been living in the Ler Per Her camp in eastern Karen state’s Pa’an district. Battalions of the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), which has been fighting for greater autonomy from Myanmar’s central government for more than half a century, were located nearby. Fighting erupted close to the camp on 3 June, and the IDPs fled out of fear of capture and forced labour by the Myanmar army. People in surrounding villages were also forced to flee to Thailand. The exodus is believed to be the largest single displacement across the border since the government launched a major offensive against the Karen rebels in 1997.

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