[Myanmar] Govt Troops Continue to Clash With KIA in Southern Kachin

[News_Editor]

Displaced Kachin from Nam Gau village flee on foot to Nam Lim Pa village in late October. (Photo: Free Burma Rangers)

RANGOON — Fighting between the Burma Army and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) continued over the weekend in southern Kachin State’s Mansi Township, where fresh clashes displaced about 2,000 villagers, according to Kachin aid groups.

On Saturday, government troops fought with KIA fighters for about three hours near the village of Nam Lim Pa, causing ethnic Kachin villagers to flee into the surrounding forest, said Naw Din, the manager of the Karuna Myanmar Social Service Relief Team based in Bhamo.

Many of displaced walked for a day and a night to reach the nearby village of Maw Win Gyi, the aid worker said, adding that more Kachin villagers continued to arrive on Monday morning.

“Our members are preparing food for them. Our staff cook food, so they can eat when they arrive there [Maw Win Gyi village],†said Naw Din, whose organization supports internally displaced people’s camps in Bhamo Township.

He said local aid organizations struggled to take care of the growing number of displaced villagers, adding that an estimated 2,000 people had fled from Nam Lim Pa village over the weekend. Many of them had previously fled other villages and sought refuge in Nam Lim Pa, but this village had now become too dangerous, Naw Din explained.

The area on the border of southern Kachin State and northern Shan State has been the scene of fighting since late October, and the violence broke out shortly before the government was scheduled to hold joint peace talks with 17 rebel groups.

The Burma Army supposedly began operations in the KIA-controlled area of Mansi Township to tackle rampant deforestation. Thousands of people from several villages have fled their homes to escape the continuing violence.

Maran Seng Aung, of the Kachin Peace Creation Group in the state capital Myitkyina, said gun battles had raged in parts of Mansi throughout the weekend. “There is often fighting in this area. Some fighting lasted 3 hours, some 2 hours. Sometimes the fighting stopped for a while and then it starts again,†he told The Irrawaddy on Monday.

According to Maran Seng Aung, the fighting is the result of a Burma Army operation that aims to cut communications between the KIA troops to in Kachin State and Shan rebels in the Shan State.

“The border line between Kachin and Shan State Army-North [troops] is in this area. They [burma Army troops] want to cut off the [communication] line and this is why they are fighting there,†he said.

Maran Seng Aung said the fighting had disrupted the lives of thousands of Kachin villagers and could derail ceasefire talks between the KIA and Naypyidaw, while also undermining government efforts to sign a nationwide ceasefire with 17 ethnic armed groups.

“This fighting could cause damage to the peace process. They need to build more trust and should stop fighting,†he said, adding that he hoped upcoming peace talks would put an end to the fighting in Mansi.

During a meeting in Myitkyina on Nov. 5, the government’s chief peace negotiator Aung Min presented representatives of 17 ethnic armed groups with a draft nationwide ceasefire proposal. The sides are scheduled to hold another round of talks on the proposal in the Karen State capital Hpa-an next month.

The post Govt Troops Continue to Clash With KIA in Southern Kachin appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Source: Irrawaddy.org