Burma's military regime held a sham election in 2010, but since then conflict and human rights abuses in Burma have increased.
In an open letter sent to the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon earlier this week the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) called on the UN to take an active role in bringing about an end to the Kachin conflict which began in June of last year when Burma army troops attacked KIO positions, ending a 17-year ceasefire
Four soldiers from the Burma army were killed yesterday during a clash with troops from the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in northern Shan state, said KIA officers at the frontline.
Fighting between government troops and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in northern Kachin state has forced dozens of civilians to take shelter at a Baptist church in Sumprabum, located about 80 miles north of Myitkyina.
Villagers and gold mine workers flee from the Myitsone dam area after fighting erupted on May 13 and 14 between the the Burma army and troops from the Kachin Independence Army.
The Shan State Army-South are scheduled to hold further peace talks with the government representatives on 19 May, where they will push for the release of nearly 100 of the group’s members that are imprisoned.
“Roughly there are thousands of them but not situated in just Waingmaw and Myitkyina – people in every village are leaving their homes and those close to the border sometimes flee into China,” said the pastor.
While refugees in Kachin state have increased access to aid, humanitarian assistance is unable to reach those displaced or hiding in the jungle.
Burmese Army’s Russian-made Mi-24 assault helicopter has fired rockets on Jik Loi village and Rit Pan village on May 14 at 5 pm. At least one civilian house in Jik Loi and one house in Rit Pan have been damaged by rockets fired from a large helicopter gunship, said local villagers. Two cows have been killed in this attack.
On May 10, a row broke out between the two sides when employees from the Zaykabar company began to bulldoze land in Shwenanthar village. The farmers in the area responded by taking to the fields with two tractors and standing their ground.
While foreign governments heap praise on the Burmese government’s liberal tilt, land theft appears to be increasing as state agencies and powerfully placed domestic firms position themselves to welcome foreign investment.
Farmers across the country are being muscled out of their fields with little hope of appeal to the law.
Naypyitaw and Loi Taileng (the main base of the Shan State Army “South”) gear up for further progress in their peace talks, 3 more clashes had already taken place, according to rebel and local sources.
Burma army soldiers shot and injured a Kachin preacher while he was attending a local religious leaders meeting last month. The April 27th incident which left the preacher seriously injured, occurred at Chipwi village north of Myitkyina.
The United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC) says it will review the ethnic cease-fire agreements reached with the Burmese government if the government does not halt military offensives in Kachin State by June 10.
A farmer from Nipukhan Vilage in Rathidaung Township, who is going to court for alleged trespassing, said that farmers are still being oppressed despite the new government.
Thursday morning saw troops from the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) capture a key Burma army post on the Myitkyina to Putao road in the north of Kachin state. Hka Garan post fell after a one hour firefight, according to local residents.
La Nan, spokesperson from the Kachin Independence Organisation — the KIA’s political wing — said 52 clashes have taken place this month inside the group’s territories on the eastern banks of the Irrawaddy River.
The commander of the Burmese Army’s Northern Regional Military Command, Brig-Gen Zeyar Aung, told people in Pangwa, Kachin State, not to worry about the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) causing problems because his troops will wipe them out.
Humanitarian groups say displaced refugees living in temporary camps in Kachin State are in desperate need for better shelter as the monsoon season nears. Fighting between the Burma Army and the Kachin Independent Army continues forcing more villagers into camps and increasing demands on the limited resources available.
