One Burmese military intelligence officer and a nine-year-old girl were killed and four others were wounded when an unknown armed group attacked the Military Affairs Security (MAS) office at Three Pagodas Pass, close to the Thai-Burmese border, at around 3 pm on Sunday.
Eyewitnesses said that about seven people wearing masks threw hand grenades inside the office and the Buddhist assembly hall where Burmese government troops were resting.
Kyaw Kyaw Aung, an officer with the MAS, formerly known as the military intelligence service, was killed from the bomb blast. The girl, who has not been named, was shot by a spray of bullets from the attackers as she was walking in the street nearby.
Also wounded was Win Soe, an officer with the MAS, and Oung Chan, a member of the New Mon State Party (NMSP) who was visiting the office at the time of the attack. Two motorbike taxi drivers were also wounded in the attack.
“The attackers must have thought the NMSP member was a member of Military Intelligence because he was wearing a camouflage shirt. He was shot in the leg and shoulder while he was running out of the office,” said an eyewitness.
Witnesses said the group drove motorbikes into the town at 3:45 pm on the road from Taung Wine, an area predominantly inhabited by ethnic Karens.
One eyewitness said, “Seven people pulled up on their motorbikes about 10 feet in front of me. They took out their guns and began spraying the office.
“After that, they threw grenades in,” he said. “Then a car pulled up, they got in, and drove away.”
No witness or official said they could identify the gang, and no one has claimed responsibility for the attack. However, several residents in Three Pagodas Pass who asked to remain anonymous said they suspected that the attackers were members of DKBA Brigade 5, which is led by Brig-Gen Saw Lah Pwe.
According to one eyewitness, the attackers seemed very familiar with the geography of the town and spoke in Karen when they opened fire on the Military Intelligence office.
Sources said the Burmese authorities in Three Pagodas Pass have tightened security since last week after they received information that the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) had plans to attack the town.
However, at the time when the armed gang attacked, the security guards were in the process of rotating, and the office front was temporarily unguarded, said sources.
“I think the attackers had their own people in the town as they must have known the security was rotating,” said one eyewitness.
The town was attacked by the DKBA on Nov. 8, 2010, one day after Burma held a general election.
The area around Three Pagodas Pass has been a common ground for conflict between the government troops and Karen rebels in recent years.
The Burmese army has recently deployed three battalions to Three Pagodas Pass: Light Infantry Battalions No. 373 and 563, both under the control of the Western Command in Arakan State, and Infantry Battalion 283, which is under the control of the Regional Southeast Command in Moulmein.
There are three ethnic armed groups based near Three Pagodas Pass: the NMSP, the Karen National Union, and the DKBA.
Meanwhile, markets and gold shops in the town were closed on Monday, and hundreds of migrants did not go to work as much of the local population avoid the town center for fear of further attacks, sources said.
About 4,000 Burmese migrant workers live in Three Pagodas Pass, but go to work in textile factories or shoe factories on the Thai side of the border each day.
“The security in the town is still unstable,” said the father of a migrant worker. “Some people believe that members of the armed group are still lurking around the town, planning another attack.”
Source:http://irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21434
Eyewitnesses said that about seven people wearing masks threw hand grenades inside the office and the Buddhist assembly hall where Burmese government troops were resting.
Kyaw Kyaw Aung, an officer with the MAS, formerly known as the military intelligence service, was killed from the bomb blast. The girl, who has not been named, was shot by a spray of bullets from the attackers as she was walking in the street nearby.
Also wounded was Win Soe, an officer with the MAS, and Oung Chan, a member of the New Mon State Party (NMSP) who was visiting the office at the time of the attack. Two motorbike taxi drivers were also wounded in the attack.
“The attackers must have thought the NMSP member was a member of Military Intelligence because he was wearing a camouflage shirt. He was shot in the leg and shoulder while he was running out of the office,” said an eyewitness.
Witnesses said the group drove motorbikes into the town at 3:45 pm on the road from Taung Wine, an area predominantly inhabited by ethnic Karens.
One eyewitness said, “Seven people pulled up on their motorbikes about 10 feet in front of me. They took out their guns and began spraying the office.
“After that, they threw grenades in,” he said. “Then a car pulled up, they got in, and drove away.”
No witness or official said they could identify the gang, and no one has claimed responsibility for the attack. However, several residents in Three Pagodas Pass who asked to remain anonymous said they suspected that the attackers were members of DKBA Brigade 5, which is led by Brig-Gen Saw Lah Pwe.
According to one eyewitness, the attackers seemed very familiar with the geography of the town and spoke in Karen when they opened fire on the Military Intelligence office.
Sources said the Burmese authorities in Three Pagodas Pass have tightened security since last week after they received information that the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) had plans to attack the town.
However, at the time when the armed gang attacked, the security guards were in the process of rotating, and the office front was temporarily unguarded, said sources.
“I think the attackers had their own people in the town as they must have known the security was rotating,” said one eyewitness.
The town was attacked by the DKBA on Nov. 8, 2010, one day after Burma held a general election.
The area around Three Pagodas Pass has been a common ground for conflict between the government troops and Karen rebels in recent years.
The Burmese army has recently deployed three battalions to Three Pagodas Pass: Light Infantry Battalions No. 373 and 563, both under the control of the Western Command in Arakan State, and Infantry Battalion 283, which is under the control of the Regional Southeast Command in Moulmein.
There are three ethnic armed groups based near Three Pagodas Pass: the NMSP, the Karen National Union, and the DKBA.
Meanwhile, markets and gold shops in the town were closed on Monday, and hundreds of migrants did not go to work as much of the local population avoid the town center for fear of further attacks, sources said.
About 4,000 Burmese migrant workers live in Three Pagodas Pass, but go to work in textile factories or shoe factories on the Thai side of the border each day.
“The security in the town is still unstable,” said the father of a migrant worker. “Some people believe that members of the armed group are still lurking around the town, planning another attack.”
Source:http://irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21434
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