Karen CSO urges Myanmar military to withdraw troops

20 March 2018
Karen CSO urges Myanmar military to withdraw troops
Soldiers from the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA). Photo: KC Ortiz/AFP

A Karen civil society group has urged the Myanmar army on Monday to withdraw troops from the KNU’s 5th Brigade area in southeastern Karen state, where about 2,000 civilians from 14 villages have fled their homes after soldiers allegedly confiscated their land for an infrastructure project, according to an RFA report.
Government troops began entering the area on March 4 to build a new road.
The Karen Peace Network issued a statement also urging international NGOs to help internally displaced persons though local civil society organizations instead of through the government.
The KNU was one of eight ethnic armed groups that signed a nationwide cease-fire agreement with the Myanmar government in October 2015.