A Burmese soldier waits for a train in Rangoon with his fellow soldiers as they head to the frontlines of the conflict in Kachin State. (Photo: Reuters)

As war escalates in Burma’s northernmost state, ethnic rebels fighting for their basic rights have killed and injured more than 60 government soldiers in response to an attack on their headquarters, an allied armed group claimed on Monday.

The All Burma Students’ Democratic Front (ABSDF), an armed group fighting alongside ethnic rebels in northern Kachin State, said government forces suffered the casualties on Friday after launching an offensive in Lajayang region, near the rebels’ headquarters in the town of Laiza, where about 70,000 displaced civilians are staying in refugee camps.

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Eight Naxalites were on Friday killed by security forces and nine captured after a gun battle during a raid on the ultra’s training camp in Bande forest area of Kanker district, police said.

“Eight Maoists were killed in a fierce encounter with joint team of the district police force and the Special Task Force in the deeply forested region under Bande police station area,” Kanker’s Superintendent of Police Rahul Bhagat said.

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As the fighting between Kachin rebels and the Burmese army intensifies in northern Burma, the military tried to open another front on Friday, according to Kachin sources. They reported that government artillery units and helicopters launched attacks in the Lajayang area nearby the rebels’ headquarters, located on the Burma-China border.

Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) spokesman La Nan said army helicopters could be seen and heard from the KIO headquarters in Laiza, as they pounded Kachin ethnic rebel bases in the hills around Lajayang.

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The national army personnel in several separate operation killed 22 armed rebels and arrested 6 others.

According to national defense ministry press office, the national army personnel conducted special combined operation in the outskirts of Shorbak district of Kandahar province and killed 20 armed militants and detained 6 others. A gun, 12 different types of arms, a sack of hashish and 2 tents were seized by these forces.

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Following three days of peace talks in Rangoon on December 7- 9, the Chin National Front (CNF) signed a 27-point agreement with the central government, and met with other Chin political party representatives for the first time.

According to Chin media, the main points of the agreement included:

Chin National Day–February 20–will be recognized as a holiday in Chin State, while Chin State Day celebrations can be held on January 3.

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