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| Tensions have spilled over in recent months between KIA and Burmese army. (Source: news.bbc.co.uk) |
Burmese government troops launched a number of mortar shells at an outpost of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in Mohnyin Township, some 150 km southwest of the Kachin State capital, Myitkyina, on Wednesday morning.
According to a KIO official who spoke with The Irrawaddy on condition of anonymity, the shells were fired from 81mm mortars. No casualties were reported, although the KIA has since raised its level of alert.
The mortar attack was the first overt sign of violence between the KIA and the Tatmadaw (Burmese army) since Xu Caihou, the vice-chairman of China's Central Military Commission, visited Burma last week.
Naw Din, the editor of the Kachin News Group (KNG), told The Irrawaddy that tensions have been high in recent weeks, and that Wednesday's unilateral attack should be seen as a warning to the KIA, which is the military wing of the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO).
“The government’s troops fired the shells as a warning. They were ordering KIA Battalion 5 to move its base. As far as we know, nobody was injured,” he said.
According to Naw Din, on the same day, Burmese troops fired artillery shells toward the military base of KIA Battalion 25 at Bahmo in northern Kachin State near the Sino-Burmese border. The KNG editor estimated that the action was another warning shot, and should not be taken to assume that hostilities had resumed.
“Three shells exploded near Battalion 25,” he said. “This was in response to the KIA's arrest of six government soldiers who had sneaked into KIA-controlled territory a few weeks ago.
“Officers from Burma's Northern Regional Command are currently in discussion with China's regional authorities to assure them that they can resolve these problems successfully,” he added.
The KIO signed a ceasefire agreement with the Burmese government in 1994. But tensions have spilled over in recent months after the KIO refused the Burmese junta's order in September to transform its military wing into a Border Guard Force.
On Sept. 23, KIA troops fired warning shots at a government helicopter flying near Laiza, close to the KIO headquarters.
Then in February, a skirmish flared between KIA troops and government forces. Several Burmese soldiers were killed, according to the KIA, including a lieutenant-colonel and a commanding officer.
In recent months, Burma's state-run media has stepped up its rhetoric against the Kachin army, referring to them as “rebels.”
Meanwhile, in political developments, the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), an alliance of anti-government ethnic groups, concluded a conference last week.
At the conference, the UNFC appointed as its chairman the KIA's Vice-Commander-in-Chief Lt-Gen N'Ban La Awng.
The UNFC includes the KIO, the Karenni National Progressive Party, the Chin National Front, the Karen National Union, the New Mon State Party and the Shan State Army-South.
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