Dec 17, 2007 (DVB), A student from a Karenni refugee camp 1 on the Thai-Burma border was reportedly killed when Thai soldiers opened fire on a group of Burmese refugee students who marched on their base.

The incident began when Thai border guards arrested some students who were participating in a sports contest in the refugee camp on Saturday.

The other students were angered by the arrests and marched to the troops' base to protest, but when they approached, the soldiers opened fire on the students.

One student said that about 30 shots were fired by the troops, killing one of the students.

"They opened fire and a student named Ike Oo was shot in his neck and died soon afterwards," the student said.

"Another student was hit on the leg," he said.

The next morning, around 600 students and teachers from the refugee camps staged a walking protest calling for compensation for the student who died and for more rights for refugees.

They also demanded that the soldiers responsible for the student's death be brought to trial.

Thai army troops and police visited the camp to investigate the case, which has also been reported to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Reporting by Saw Kanyaw