Four killed in Myanmar rebel attack

YANGON - HEAVY weapons fire from rebel groups in eastern Myanmar killed four farm workers and wounded three more as fighting continues to rage in the region, state media reported on Saturday.


The armed wing of the Karen National Union was accused of 'undermining peace of the State, tranquility of community and prevalence of law and order' and 'causing death, injury and fear', the New Light of Myanmar newspaper said.

It said the group, which has waged Myanmar's longest-running insurgency, battling the government since 1949, fired heavy weapons into an area of Bago Region, north-east of Yangon, that borders Karen state.

Fighting between ethnic insurgents and government troops in Karen State flared around the time of the country's controversial elections last November.

Thousands of people briefly fled across the border into Thailand seeking to escape the violence and unrest has continued to boil.

As a result of the elections Myanmar, ruled by the military since 1962, has a new parliamentary system, although it is dominated by retired generals and has been criticised as a sham aimed at shoring up army rule. -- AFP

Source:http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/SEAsia/Story/STIStory_636860.html

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