Some 2,000 Karen villagers have been forced to flee five villages in Karen State after Burmese troops carried out a mortar attack and then burned them down on November 26, according to a senior official of the Karen National Union. The villagers are now living in the jungle with little food and no shelter, KNU secretary general Mahn Sha told The Irrawaddy.

He said the villages were “black villages,” meaning they were not recognized by the government, claiming they were controlled by insurgents.

“The villagers are forced to sneak back to their villages and forage for paddy,” said Mahn Sha. “But if they are caught by the troops, they could be shot.” He said government troops should only fight the KNU, and leave innocent civilians alone.

In September, Amnesty International issued a report saying it was concerned that the Burmese government systematically denied human rights to civilians, particularly in ethnic minority communities.

Liaison officer of the Free Burma Rangers Phe Bu said mobile teams of rangers were sent to give the displaced villagers medical treatment. The FBR, formed in 1997, has been providing medical help for displaced ethnic communities in several Burmese states, including Karen, Arakan, Karenni and Shan states.

“I feel very sorry for them,” Phe Bu said from the Thai border town of Mae Sot. “They need a lot of things, but we can do only a little for them.”