The independent Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG), documented in May that two incidents involving grenades and fired by soldiers wounded villagers, including children.

The civilians suffered from injuries from grenades of the government’s militia, Border Guard Force, in Bo Tho Township, Papun Distict, Karen State. I

In January 2013, a 23-year-old woman and her one-year-old son were wounded when a Burma Army militia unit member, company Sergeant, Saw Day Day, from the Border Guard Force unit, 1014, shot at them. The BGF sergeant fired a grenade while intoxicated and in the woman’s home.

Saw Way Lay, the KHRG’s information coordinator spoke to Karen News about the incident.

“Sergeant Saw Day Day from the BGF was drunk and fired his weapon. It hit the women and her young child, injuring them. They are lucky the mortar grenade didn’t explode and they were only injured. If the mortar grenade had exploded – you wouldn’t want to image it.”

In an incident in May 2013, grenade shrapnel injured a father and his two-month-old son when militia from the BGF 1014 unit was again involved in an armed incident.

Fighting between the Burma Army controlled Border Guard Force unit number 1014 and Karen National Liberation Army soldiers broke out and the civilians were wounded.

KHRG’s Saw Way Lay said.

“During this ceasefire agreement, there should be no more incidents like this. If armed incident occurs like this, human right violations will also occur as a result.”

Padoh Saw Kwe Htoo Win, the general secretary of the KNU spoke to Karen News.

“I believe that the soldiers who fired their weapons didn’t target civilians, but since the fighting broke out in the village, civilians were wounded. We are trying to build peace with the government to solve these problems and at the same time, we have to build understanding among our [Karen] people. We have to do this as a priority.”