Fight Between KIA and Burmese Troops Still Going On

U Thura Shwe Mann, the elected speaker of Pyithu Hluttaw, the lower house of Burmese Parliament, told chief editors of well known journals in Burma in Yangon Division Parliament Meeting that the fight between KIA and Burmese troops have came to conclude through negotiation for peace talk made by one Kachin MP.

However, KIA requested an official peace talk not a negotiation by a single person.

The fight is still going on in Kachin State. Chinese government also has been forcing the Kachin Refugees back to Kachin State telling them that the war has ended.

A spoke person from KIA told Voice of America in Burmese that the fight between KIA and Burmese troops has been going on in many different places in Kachin State. However, KIA is in mobile defensive against Burmese troops' massive attack using motors and tanks.

Tha Kachin News reported,
The fighting occurred between troops of the KIA’s Battalion 12 and the Burmese Army’s Mogaung-based Infantry Battalion (IB) No. 74, said KIA officers.

The IB No. 74 is under Military Operation Command (MOC)-3 headquartered in Mogaung. The army arrested Maraw Brang Mai and Salang Kaba La Seng, two civil administrative officers of the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), the political wing of the KIA on March 24, when it was deployed in Hpakant Township.

The war continues in KIA territories in the two states in Northern Burma--- Kachin State and northern Shan State after the President U Thein Sein-led proxy military government launched a military offensive against the KIO/KIA in Sang Gang in Manmaw (Bhamo) district, Kachin State on June 9.

The KIA is fighting against intruding Burmese troops under the newly-set “wide defensive policy” of the KIO/KIA.

Kachin raped, killed by Burmese troops (DVB)

By MAUNG TOO

Published: 20 June 2011

A Burmese soldier walks across a barricaded street in Rangoon (Reuters)

Seven Kachin women have been raped in separate attacks by Burmese troops in the country’s north, four of whom were subsequently murdered, a rights group has told DVB.

All incidents occurred in or close to Bhamo district in Kachin state, where additional battalions of Burmese soldiers have been deployed in the past fortnight to fight the insurgent Kachin Independence Army (KIA).

Moon Nay Li, coordinator of the Kachin Women’s Association Thailand (KWAT), said that six women were raped this month – two of the incidents happened in Donbon village, one in Momauk township and three in Nahlon. The three women in Nahlon were then murdered.

She said another incident occurred just north of Bhamo on 17 June. “We learnt that a couple in Dawhpumyang [sub-township] were taken into the woods by troops from the Burmese army’s LIB-142 [Light Infantry Battalion 142] – they tied up the husband and made him watch as they raped his wife before killing her.”

The latest wave of fighting in Bhamo began on 9 June when Burmese troops launched an attack on KIA bases, forcing thousands to flee their homes. The assault came after the KIA refused to become a government-controlled Border Guard Force.

Use of rape as a weapon of war in Burma has long been documented by rights group. The Shan Women’s Action Network’s landmark ‘License to Rape’ report in 2002 cited 173 incidents of rape by Burmese troops in Shan state alone between 1996 and 2001. Of these, around 61 percent were believed to be gang-rapes, while a quarter resulted in deaths.

Moon Nay Li said rape of women was a regular occurrence when the Burmese army staged offensives in ethnic regions, and voiced concern that it had become “a policy” of government troops.

Opposition icon Aung San Suu Kyi told a summit of Nobel prize winners in May that rape in Burma is a “very real problem” and “is used as a weapon by armed forces to intimidate the ethnic nationalities and to divide our country,”

A statement released by KWAT last week said that China has restricted the movement of aid workers along the shared border, meaning that refugees were struggling to receive help.

Around 10,000 Kachin are estimated to have fled their homes since fighting began, some of whom have crossed into China and some of whom have travelled to the KIA headquarters in Laiza, north of Bhamo.

Original Link from Democratic Voice of Burma

http://www.dvb.no/news/kachin-raped-killed-by-burmese-troops/16214

Which One is More Accurate?

It has been very well heard through media that the Burmese military has been launching deadly attack upon ethnic freedom fighters since early this year. The attack toward Karen National Liberation Army and Shan State Army are still on going as usual. Respective exiled news-agencies frequently report about battles between Burmese soldiers and those ethnic freedom fighters.

Kachin Independence Army took cease-fire agreement with the Burmese military leaders since 1994. However, as the group failed to accept the unbalance offer from the Burmese military leaders, which is to make the KIA completely surrender under the Burmese military leader and became part of Burmese military, KIA was then announced as a 'rebel group' since late 2010. Since then, a number of Burmese military battalions were deployed to Kachin State as a preparation to wipe the freedom fighter out.

The tension between Burmese military and KIA rose up as Burmese soldier literally launched fire against KIA in May, 2011. The war between KIA and Burmese military became widely known only in middle July, 2011.

Kachin News Group reported on May 18th, that the latest military tensions between the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and Burmese Army in three different regions in two states in northern Burma may lead to civil war, KIA officials said.

The News Group also reported on May 27th, 2011 that -At about 5 a.m. local time, the Burmese Army fired three 75 mm mortar rounds at the KIA’s Battalion 25 Headquarters, in Manmaw (Bhamo) district, in Kachin State. The mortars were fired from the camp of the Myothit-based, Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) No. 320, in N'Mawk (Momauk) Township, at Battalion 25, based in Dum Bung Krung, in the Township.

On June 9th, 2011 the fighting was between the Burmese Army’s Momauk-based Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) No. 437 and the Kachin Independence Army’s (KIA) Battalion No. 15, under Brigade 3, at the KIA-controlled Sang Gang Village in Momauk Township in Bhamo District, according to KIA officials at the Laiza headquarters, in eastern Kachin State.

A KIA soldier temporarily stopped at Uru Hka riverbank in Hpakant jade Mining Township in Kachin State, Northern Burma.

The fighting was located close to the Taping River on the road heading to the Taping No. 1 and Taping No. 2 hydropower plants, from Myitkyina-Bhamo Highway. The two hydropower plants were constructed by the China Datang Corporation (CDT).

According to a KIA official in Laiza, this morning’s fighting intensified when over 200 Burmese troops marched into the KIA’s Sang Gang Post and started shooting at the KIA post near Prang Kadung Village.

At least three Burmese soldiers were killed and six injured in the morning fighting. However, only two KIA were injured, a KIA officer in the frontline said.'

The Following (in italic)is directly copied paragraphs from June 18th, 2011 issue of the New Light of Myanmar, a State News paper containing Burmese military's propaganda. According to these statements released by Burmese military government acting like elected people's government, KIA is accused of attacking the Burmese soldiers.

NAY PYI TAW, 17 June-KIA based in Kachin State is committing deterrence to development projects of Kachin State, disturbing to the tasks, posing threats and disturbance to Chinese staff who are working at hydropower projects. On 16 April, they made threats to stop quarry works on the east bank of the Malikha River and take their permission to continue the works.

On 5 May, KIA entered Lahsa Hydropower Project on the east bank of the Malikha River and threatened Chinese staff to move to the west bank of the river within two days and to withdraw the extended camps from the east bank as quickly as possible.

In the afternoon of 8 June, KIA group called and examined a member of Tatmadaw security unit which was discharging security duty at Tarpein Hydropower Project in Kachin State and seized a rucksack with rounds of ammunition. In that regard, two Tatmadaw officers went to KIA camp to settle the issue. But they were detained by KIA without any reason.

While a military column led by the Base Tactical Operation Commander was marching to Tarpein Hydropower Project from Bhamo, KIA troops taking positions at Hsankha Camp of KIA Liaison Office and at Htonbo on the hill at the entrance to Tarpein Hydropower Project opened fires at the column. After responding to the gun fires the Tatmadaw column on 9 June took back the two Tatmadaw officers detained by KIA.

Although the Tatmadaw column informed KIA to withdrawl from its temporary camp near Tarpein Hydropower Project not later than 11 June, KIA did not follow. The Tatmadaw column inevitably attacked and occupied the temporary camp on 12 June evening.

On 8 June, members of KIA unreasonably captured a police private and a civilian from the guardhouse of Microwave Station near Keikhteik Village, Mansi township, Bhamo District.

The new government of Burma is always trying to get international favor by wiping out their ugly deeds under the jungle. However, the truth still remain.

Burmese Military Decieved Kachin Independence Army to Exchange POWs

(Photo-KIA: KIA lance-corporal brutally killed by the Burmese military)

On June 9th, 2011 Burmese military deceptively promised KIA to exchange prisoners of war. One KIA information officer was arrested while he was in his office. Three Burmese soldiers were also arrested during a battle near Moemauk town in Kachin State, Burma.

According to Kachin News, "Lance-Corporal Sau Ying Corporal KIA freedom fighter was killed by different forms of torture by Burmese troops after he was arrested at the KIA Sang Gang Post Wednesday morning". Mizzima, a pro-democratic media group interviewed a spoke-man in KIA regarding this issue. According to this source, the Burmese military deceptively told KIA that they would exchange the prisoner of war without mentioning whether the arrested one was dead or alive. The Burmese military also deceived KIA of retreating after exchange of prisoners. The KIA leased 6 Burmese soldiers including 2 officers.

However, the Burmese military brutally tortured the arrested KIA lance-corporal until death. His dead body was then to the KIA military camp, and throw the corpse outside of the camp. This treatment indeed was believed to be a psycho-war and insult.

Two Burmese officers and one soldier were captured in Sang Gang by KIA Battalion 15 on Wednesday, June 8, and three more Burmese soldiers were captured in the Sang Gang fighting, said sources from KIA Battalion 15.

Since May 19th, 2011 Burmese military started deadly attack over the Kachin Independence Army. KIA is known to be an ethnic arm-force struggling against Burmese military dictatorship for freedom and democracy for Kachin Ethnic National in Burma, and for the country Burma.

KIA and Burmese military used to have cease-fire since 1994 until the Burmese military regime renamed KIA as an 'insurgent group' after KIA had denied Burmese military's proposal to make KIA one of Boarder Guard Force under the new Burmese government.

The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) set a May 25th deadline for withdrawal of Burmese troops stationing around the Pang Hkawn-based KIA’s Battalion 5, based in Sinbo, in southern Kachin State, battalion officials said. The battalion 5, under command of Brigade 2, rejects the removal of the battallion, officials added.