The destroyed dwellings were in two small ethnic Shan villages in Dawhpumyang Sub-Township, Mammaw.  The villages are situated behind the headquarters of Infantry Battalion No. 142, near the Myitkyina-Manmaw road. Battalion No. 142 is under the Northern Regional command based in Myitkyina.

The villagers told the KNG that at least 10 houses were completely destroyed in Nam Wai village while five more were leveled in neighboring Hpa Ke village.

The villagers believed this was done in retaliation for a mine exploding near the Dawhpumyang battalion base. The Myitkyina-Manmaw road has been the scene of recent fighting between the Kachin Independence Organization and the Burmese army but the homes destroyed were said to be belong to civilians uninvolved in the conflict.

Fighting has continued unabated since June 9, when government forces broke a seventeen year-old ceasefire.

The homes were burned the same day a report released by Physicians for Human Rights accused the Burmese army of torturing and killing large numbers of Kachin villagers during its ongoing military offensive. The report also stated that, since the conflict began in June the “…Burmese army has forced Kachin civilians to guide combat units and walk in front of army columns to trigger landmines.”

The respected US organization estimates there are currently at least 22,000 internally displaced people trapped on the Sino-Burmese border in increasingly dire conditions.

In response to the ongoing atrocities being committed by the Burmese army in its offensive against the KIO, seven Kachin organizations yesterday co-signed an open letter to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urging her to raise the issue during her trip to Burma.

This morning Clinton met with President Thein Sein in Naypyidaw. It is unclear if she spoke about the Kachin conflict with Thein Sein, himself a retired General and close ally of the reclusive strongman Than Shwe.

This story was complied by our correspondent in Laiza, headquarters of the KIO in Kachin State, Northern Burma.