Army launches air attacks, says KIA

Published on Saturday, 29 December 2012 11:36

The Myanmar army launched air offensives against Kachin Independence Army early on December 28, the rebel group’s information officer said.

On the morning of December 27, one man was killed and three people, including a female, were seriously wounded after the attacks between the two forces.

La Nan said, “The government forces fired heavy weapons at Do Phone Yan at 6am on December 28. Two fighter jets and two helicopters from Myitkyhina air-base used Sten guns and bombs in attacking our troops.”

Skirmishes between the two armed forces have escalated near the KIA headquarters beginning mid-June 2011, and the army stepped up its offensive action from the third week of December this year.

The government forces also launched air attacks on Kachin rebels near the frontline base of Lajayang on the same day.

La Nan also said that the Myanmar army is seriously preparing for offensives at the Pan Wah area.

The heavy attacks occurred after Brig-General Tun Tun Naung, a northern commander of the government’s army, ordered the KIA on December 23 to leave the route of Lajayang by December 25.

The KIA resumed fighting against the government army after an armistice agreement between the two broke down in June 2011.

Some 70,000 internally displaced persons have taken shelter near Laiza since then.
Peace plan
Both the Upper and Lower Houses of Parliament will submit a proposal on the peace issue in northern Myanmar’s Kachin state during a parliamentary session scheduled for next month.

“Kachin State has suffered a prolonged war. And with the passage of time, regional security is worsening. At present, we need to achieve peace there most quickly,” Upper House MP Khet Htein Nan told reporters on December 25.

Both sides need to build mutual trust, said Daw Dwe Bu, secretary of the National Race Affairs and Internal Peace-Making Committee of the Lower House.

More than 2,000 skirmishes have occurred over the year in Kachin state, forcing some 100,000 people to flee the affected areas.