Burma-Myanmar: Kachin rebels say clashes continue despite friday’s ceasefire
A Kachin rebel at Hka Ya Bhum, an outpost of KIA in Lajayang. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy)
Ethnic Kachin rebels in Burma said clashes in the country’s north continued Saturday despite a government promise to cease fire, casting doubt over hopes that the bloody conflict there could end soon.
Burma’s military had declared Friday it would stop attacks against rebels around the town of Lajayang, near the country’s northeastern border with China, starting Saturday morning because it had achieved its goal of securing an army outpost there that had been surrounded by insurgents.
An official with the Kachin Independence Army confirmed Lajayang was quiet, but he said fighting was taking place in at least three other rebel positions in the region on Saturday. The official declined to be identified because he is not a spokesman for the rebel group.
The News:
http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/24652