Myanmar students fight in Thai camp

Wed, 27 Oct 1999, 00:00 WIB | Source: AP

BANGKOK (AP): The end of Buddhist Lent was marred by a brawl
between more than 100 rival Myanmar student and ethnic minority
exiles at a camp in Thailand, seriously injuring one refugee,
officials said on Tuesday.

The Sunday night fight near the Maneeloy holding center close
to the tense Myanmar border comes as Thailand plans to clamp down
on exiled students after militants believed to have stayed at the
camp stormed the Myanmar embassy in Bangkok.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, which supports the more
than 1,100 refugees at Maneeloy, has stopped visiting on the
advice of Thai authorities because of security concerns, said a
UNHCR spokesperson on customary condition of anonymity.

Last week, five UNHCR staffers were locked up for several
hours by students in a dispute over the payment of monthly
stipends. The incident cast another shadow over the students'
future following the embassy siege three weeks ago.

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