The military-controlled Burmese government sent two army battalions to the area near Battalion 9 of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), in northern Shan State, local residents said.
Battalion 9 connects the KIA headquarters in the north and Loikang-based KIA’s Brigade 4 Command as well as Kokang and the Wa (or United Wa State Army, UWSA) territories in the east.
According to local military observers, Burmese troops have been transported from Lashio and stationed at the village of Dima, close to the base of the KIA’s Battalion 9, since Saturday, May 28.
In Dima, about 60 Burmese soldiers had already been deployed before the new military reinforcements arrived in the village, the observers added.
The KIA’s Battalion 9 is now on standby for a military response if government troops enter into its controlled areas, sources close to the battalion said.
Dima is controlled by a pro-government militia group. The village connects with the KIA-controlled Daknai Village, on the east side of Dima Stream.
The road reconstruction intended to cross the area controlled by the KIA’s Brigade 4 was temporarily stopped by the Burmese government after a May 14th warning that it will lead to war.
Military tension and short clashes have gradually increased since the KIA rejected the government’s proposal to disarm and transform into the Burmese Army-controlled Border Guard Force (BGF), in August last year.
Local military analysts said China wants the Burmese government and KIA to avoid renewed civil war between them because it will jeopardize China’s multi-million dollar investment in the country.
The KIA officially demanded on May 19th that the central government withdraw all its troops from the areas close to KIA military bases by May 25. It also warned the government must take responsibility for the consequences of refusing to withdraw.
