Johnny Htoo and Luther Htoo (pronounced 'too', 'H' is silent; born circa 1988) are twin brothers who jointly led the God's Army guerrilla group, a splinter group of the Karen National Union, in Myanmar (Burma) during the late 1990s. Formation of God's Army (1997) The Htoo twins are from an area of eastern Burma populated by the Karen ethnic group. The Karen and Burmese army had fought at various times for over fifty years, but in the early 1990s the Burmese army launched a major operation to secure the route of an oil pipeline through the area. In March 1997, a local pastor brought the two illiterate nine-year-olds to the local military chief and said the Lord had spoken to them and they would save the Karen people. According to the legend among followers, the twins then rallied defenders of their village by shouting "God's Army!", leading them to a victory over Burmese troops. Various legends claimed that the brothers had numerous magical powers, including invulnerability to bullets and mines, and that they could hand out magical bullets. Supposedly, they could kill by pointing a rifle at the ground and concentrating. One tale claims that Johnny turned himself into an old man and back when bathing in a river. The legend of the boys was embraced by locals who viewed the existing Karen National Union as corrupt and ineffective. A new rebel group called God's Army of the Holy Mountain, or God's Army for short, was thus formed under the nominal leadership of the Htoo twins. Worldwide attention (1999–2000) God's Army was situated in mountainous rainforests along the border between Burma and Thailand. They were a band of Christian guerrillas who maintained an austere lifestyle, including abstinence from sexual intercourse, alcohol, milk, eggs and pork. The boys, called "Bu Lu" and "Bu Joh" by their followers, were both chain smokers and were said to know the Bible by heart although they had never studied it. In October 1999, a group calling themselves Vigorous Burmese Student Warriors seized the Burmese embassy in Bangkok and the situation ended with their departure, at which point they were taken in by God's Army. The Htoos came to worldwide attention in January 2000 when 10 members of God's Army seized a hospital in Ratchaburi, Thailand. The group held 700 to 800 patients and staff members hostage for 22 hours. They demanded the Thai government stop