There have been regular clashes in the area between the Burmese army and troops loyal to the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) since a ceasefire ended between the two sides in June 2011.

According to eyewitnesses the truck carrying a cargo of timber worth over 2 million kyats (US$2,580) was stopped at Da Seng village near Momauk (also N’mawk) and set on fire by a large group of soldiers.

Two passengers, including the vehicle's owner managed to escape while the truck was engulfed in flames. The truck was destined for China via KIO controlled crossing roads however it was stopped before it got to the KIO territory.

Reached by phone shortly after the incident the truck's owner told the Kachin News Group, “it was a cruel act by the soldiers.  I had already paid bribes at eleven different government checkpoints along the route.  We don’t need to worry about the KIO but we are afraid of the government troops.”

Earlier this week, nine logging trucks and their drivers were detained near Sinlum village in Kachin state, according to a timber businessmen based on the Sino Burmese border. The current whereabouts of the drivers remains unknown.

Since Burma's army began its offensive last year human rights groups including Human Rights Watch have documented numerous cases of extrajudicial killings and acts of forced labor by government forces.

There are an estimated 50,000 internally displaced persons sheltering in areas controlled by the KIO along the Sino-Burmese border. An additional 20,000 people are thought to be living in government controlled territory in Kachin and Shan states.