Burma-Myanmar: In north Burma, army only fights to defend itself, Government says
Kachin refugees are seen in a tent at a rescue camp in the Chinese southwestern border city of Ruili, Yunnan province early this year. (Photo: Reuters)
The Burmese government has blamed troops from the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) for an escalation of hostilities that has displaced thousands of civilians this month in Kachin State, amid claims by rebel leaders that government forces have repeatedly been the first to attack.
Ye Htut, the presidential spokesman in Naypyidaw, accused the KIA of violating a ceasefire agreement during the recent surge in fighting, which has left 22 soldiers dead and 5,000 people displaced.
“Ground troops from the KIA need to follow regulations of the ceasefire agreements. There is no fighting from other ethnic armed groups such as the Karen, the Mon, the Kayah and others because they respect their ceasefire agreements,” Ye Htut told The Irrawaddy on Monday.