Feb 11, 2008 (DVB), Karen refugee camps on the Thai-Burma border have been placed on high alert amid rumours of a possible attack by government troops and a Karen National Union breakaway group.

A coordinator from the Karen Refugee Committee said that security has been tightened in response to rumours that State Peace and Development Council troops are planning an attack along with the KNU Peace Council, a group led by former KNU brigade 7 commander Saw Htay Maung.

The coordinator said that they had taken precautions against a possible attack.

"We have tightened security in the refugee camps and imposed restrictions on people going out after 9pm," he said.

"We have to put these measures in place in case these rumours are true."

General Saw Htay Maung's son-in-law was killed by a bomb on 30 January in what was believed to have been a targeted assassination.

It has not yet been established who carried out the attack.

Reporting by Maung Too