Over 10,000 Kachin refugees flee Myanmar fighting

[News_Editor]

Over 10,000 Kachin refugees flee Myanmar fighting

2011-06-17 11:55:25 GMT+7 (ICT)

YANGON, BURMA (BNO NEWS) -- Over 10,000 Kachin people in northern Myanmar (Burma) have fled to the Chinese border in the past three days after fighting erupted between the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and Burmese troops, KIO's civil administration officer Salang Kaba Doi Pyi Sa said on Thursday.

"According to yesterday's list, there are 2,291 refugees who arrived from Burmese government's territories. There are over 300 in Ura Bum, 4,238 in Loije, over 2,000 in Man Win and over 300 in Maijayang," Doi Pyi Sa said as quoted by the Kachin News Group.

The refugees, who have not been allowed to cross into China, said they fled out of fear of being recruited as porters by Burmese troops rather than the war itself.

Meanwhile, KIA, the military arm of the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), on Thursday said it detained six Burmese soldiers including a captain in Northern Shan State. According to Kachin News Group, the Burmese soldiers were surrounded and detained with their arms without a single shot being fired by the KIA soldiers.

The conflict broke out on Monday after the former military regime Prime Minister and new President of Burma, Thein Sein, rejected the deadline by the KIA, calling for the withdrawal of all Burmese troops deployed near KIA military camps.

On June 9, the new Burmese government launched a military offensive against the KIA. The fighting took place close to the Taping River, where two hydropower plants were constructed by the China Datang Corporation.

Kachin people from around the globe have condemned the military offensive and advised all ethnic armed groups to join the fight and take on the Burmese troops.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-06-17