A new report from Norwegian Church Aid's partner organisation the Thailand Burma Border Consortium (TBBC) has accused Burma's military regime of intensifying its oppression of ethnic minorities through a systematic campaign of torture, rape and arbitrary killing.

The Internal Displacement in Eastern Burma Survey details the eradication of 167 Burmese villages and the forced internal displacement of around 76,000 people between January and September 2007.

With the media spotlight fixed on bloody pro-democracy protests in recent months, the NCA believes that as many as half a million people are currently displaced.

Research was carried out in 38 districts of Burma for the report and accuses the military dictatorship of "carrying out systematic human rights violations through targeted attacks on the civilian population".

NCA said the worst affected area was Karen State where at least 38 people have been murdered in the Thanduang province in 2007 alone.

"This report confirms once more that Burma's military junta is prepared to use all means necessary in its large-scale and bloody war against Burma's minorities," said Atle Sommerfeldt, General Secretary of Norwegian Church Aid, at a seminar to launch the report in Oslo Monday.

"It reinforces yet again the image we have of Burma's regime as the most violent and oppressive in the world today."