Twin gunmen want to be 'ordinary' boys

The twins just want to be like ordinary children now

The enigmatic twin boys who led the God's Army guerrilla group fighting the Burmese military have said their fighting days are over and have shrugged off myths about their mystical powers in battle.

If God did not help us, we all would have died a long time ago

Luther Htoo

Johnny and Luther Htoo said they wanted to return to their parents and attend school like ordinary children.

The twins, who have said they are 13-years-old, surrendered to Thai police last Tuesday along with more than a dozen other followers, most of whom were also children.

Asked if he had magical powers to repel bullets, as supporters had once believed, Luther said: "It is not true."

The twins were icons for the Karen rebellion

But he added that God had sent him to fight the Burmese.

"If God did not help us, we all would have died a long time ago," he said.

The twins, devout Christians and vegetarians, are members of the ethnic Karen minority in Burma, which has long been fighting for more autonomy.

They were separated early last year from their parents, who trekked into Thailand and are now in one of the many border camps which house 100,000 Burmese refugees.

Army attacks

The twins' said that God's Army was formed four years ago with 150 members to protect Karen villagers in Burma from attacks by the army.

The Burmese army have been accused of killing and raping Karen villagers

"Our relatives were killed and hurt by the Burmese [army]," Luther said.

The legend about the twins' invincibility in battle began around 1997 when Burmese troops came to their village during a sweep of Karen areas.

The twins were said to have directed a successful counter-attack after the mainstream guerrilla group, the Karen National Union, fled.

Many Karens, like the twins, are fundamentalist Christians and most rebel groups support the pro-democracy efforts of Aung San Suu Kyi.

The group's numbers had dwindled to about 20 by the time they surrendered.

Refugee status

Thai authorities were considering granting humanitarian asylum to the twins.

The siege at the hospital ended with rebels being killed

Officials said that if they were found not to have been involved in previous armed attacks in Thailand, they were not expected to face charges and were likely to end up in a refugee camp.

Members of the God's Army group have in the past been blamed by Thai authorities for a number of attacks, including the armed siege of a hospital in January last year - in which hundreds were hold hostage - and a fatal raid on a shop last month.

Last week, Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai met the twins and said they should return to their parents.