The tension is occurring in Kachin State and the area of the KIA’s Brigade 4, in Northern Shan State, said KIA officials at the Laiza headquarters, in eastern Kachin State.
kia-burma-army-tension-mapToday, Wednesday, at about 5 a.m. local time, Burmese Army Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) No. 320, based in Myothit, in Dawhpumyang Sub-township, fired mortar rounds three times into the KIA’s Battalion 25, under the KIA’s brigade 5, at Dum Bum Krung, west of the Ta Hkaw Hka River (Dapein River or Taping River) in the Sub-township in Manmaw (Bhamo) District, KIA officials said.

KIA officers from Battalion 25 confirmed to the Thailand-based Kachin News Group, the three Burmese mortar shells landed near the battalion base. However, there were no causalities.

Since the shelling, troops from both sides have been on alert and fresh Burmese troops have been deployed in the areas near the KIA’s Battalion 1, which is under Brigade 3, in Manje (Mansi) Township, local eyewitnesses said.

Military tension is growing between both sides in Sinbo Town, in southern Kachin State, after the KIA’s Battalion 5, on the outskirts of Sinbo, was pressured by the Burmese Army to relocate by May 25, said KIA officials.

Burmese troops are now taking position near Battalion 5 under the guise of road construction. However, the KIA rejects the explanation for the relocation, added KIA officials.

If the Burmese troops try to approach the battalion base, the war will begin, added the KIA officials.

In Loikang, the base of the KIA’s Brigade 4, in Kutkai Township, Northern Shan State, fighting can happen at any time since the Burmese central government started road construction in April, according to brigade officials.

The branch road, about seven miles long, is to connect Battalion 4 with the main road which joins Kutkai-Tamonye-Mongsi.

The KIA’s Brigade 4 warned Burmese authorities to stop road construction several times because of concerns the strategy is to cross in the middle of the brigade and to occupy it, said the brigade’s Chairman, Lahpai Zau Raw.

KIA troops from Brigade 4 warned the road construction workers again on Saturday that it will forcibly stop the construction if they keep going, Zau Raw said.

The KIA is among the strongest ethnic armed groups in the multi-ethnic Union of Burma. It is demanding the establishment of a genuine federal union and self-determination.

Under the leadership of the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), the political wing of the KIA, the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), a political and military alliance of twelve ethnic armed and political groups was formed in February.

The UNFC aims to restore a genuine union ensuring equal rights among ethnic people.

The KIA officials said the latest military tensions with the Burmese Army will lead to civil war if the central government’s forces keep pressure on the KIA in those areas.