Human-rights protection plea
Human Rights Watch yesterday urged Thailand to protect ethnic minorities fleeing fighting from neighbouring Burma and condemned the military government in Rangoon for the fresh round of violence.
About 400 villagers, mostly ethnic Karen, have crossed into Thailand over the last week to escape fighting between Burmese government soldiers and rebel troops."Burma's military government should end joint military attacks, carried out with ethnic Karen militias, on civilians" in the eastern Karen State, the US-based group said in a statement. It called on Thailand to shelter all the newly displaced families. "The international community needs to keep a close watch on the situation, encourage Thailand to protect the refugees, and find ways of providing assistance themselves," it said.
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