Paris, Bangkok, New York. FIDH and Altsean-Burma today condemned an artillery attack by the Burmese Army that apparently targeted a camp of internally displaced people (IDPs) in Kachin state, just weeks after the military signed an agreement to end fighting.,
In a new offensive launch by the Burmese Army on Tuesday in Mansi Township, Southern Kachin State, 7 battalions advanced upon Kong Ja village and fired small and heavy artillery toward civilian areas. Local witnesses reported that heavy artillery shells landed near the school in the IDP camp of Mung Ding Pa. Burmese soldiers reportedly looted IDPs’ belongings and arrested eight villagers, including a child of about 12 years of age.
The attack violates an agreement signed on 10 October 2013 between the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the Myanmar Union Peace-Making Working Committee to end all armed fighting and to develop a plan for the voluntary return and resettlement of all IDPs.
These most recent attacks have taken place as the members of the UN General Assembly are meeting in New York to negotiate a resolution on the human rights situation in Burma.
“The UN General Assembly should now, more than ever, express deep concern about the continuing armed conflict in Kachin and Shan States. UN member States must condemn these attacks on civilians, and call on all parties to protect the civilian population and guarantee unhindered humanitarian access,” said Karim Lahidji, President of FIDH.
“Despite numerous ceasefire declarations, the Burmese Army has continued to launch military attacks against civilians as well as robbing, raping, and abducting local people. The international community must stop sugar-coating the situation and take immediate action to halt these serious crimes. It must ensure that the authorities enter into genuine political dialogue with armed ethnic groups in order to address the root causes of conflict,” said Debbie Stothard, Coordinator of Altsean-Burma, who is also and FIDH Secretary-General.
More than 100,000 civilians have been displaced since the armed conflict began in Kachin state in June 2011, including an estimated 53,000 registered IDPs in KIA-controlled areas. The regime has continuously restricted access to humanitarian aid to these IDPs, with only three deliveries of UN aid permitted in KIA-controlled areas since July 2012. These deliveries were comprised of food, medicine, and other supplies designed to provide short-term relief, but only reached 25% of the IDPs in desperate need of aid.
The Burmese Army has also been accused of torturing and killing civilians for simply being suspected of supporting the KIA. In early September 2013, soldiers tortured and killed two Kachin civilians from Nhka Ga Village who were among a group of 10 local villagers detained on suspicion of having ties to the KIA. As of early September 2013, at least 70 men from across Kachin and Northern Shan States remained in jail or were awaiting trial on charges of having ties to the KIA.