Fighting between the Burma government and Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) broke out again yesterday morning around Nam Lim Pa area near the Kachin-Shan state border. The fighting started at about 9 am local time continuing until the afternoon, according to a Kachin Baptist Church pastor that didn’t want their name used. The pastor lives in Bhamo (also Manmaw) located about 40 miles north of Nam Lim Pa.
The conflict erupted when three Burma army columns marched into an area presently controlled by the KIO armed-wing, Kachin Independence Army (KIA) 3rd Brigade battalion 12, according to an unidentified KIO official.
Nam Lim Pa is already home to about 700 refugees living in internally displaced persons (IDP) camp, said Doi Pyi Sa, the head of KIO’s IDP and Refugee Relief Committee.
Despite signing a bilateral seven-point peace agreement in late May, fighting has escalated in recent months, mainly affecting three separate KIO-controlled territories: Putao district, Pangwa and northern Shan state.
The Peace Talk-creation Group - a non-profit peace negotiation team based in Kachin state capital of Myitkyina - has urged both the government and KIO to stop the fighting immediately. The ongoing assaults could damage the success of the peace process once talks resume later in the month, the peace group warned.
