Dozens of Kachin villagers living in southern Mansi (Manje) Township fled their homes yesterday as fighting between Burma's military and troops loyal to the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) continued for the second straight day, according to church aid groups that are monitoring the situation.
Over the last 48 hours the entire population of Kawng Ja Yang village has fled to nearby Mung Ding Pa village after fighting started between the Burma army and Kachin Independence Army (KIA) soldiers, a pastor from the Bhamo Kachin Baptist Association told the Kachin News Group.
The pastor that wished to remain anonymous said they are very concerned about the fate of the displaced villagers. It’s still too dangerous to help them with the fighting still ongoing.
Fighting flared up again near Nam Hpu village yesterday at 7 AM local time. It lasted for several hours, said Zau Seng, a senior KIA officer based at the 3rd brigade headquarters in Mai Ja Yang.
The bodies of two Burma army soldiers believed to have been killed during yesterday's clashes were also found near Kawng Ja Yang, Zau Seng said. No KIA causalities have been reported at the time of press.
The Burma army is sending more troop reinforcements to the area in apparent preparation for more fighting, according to a church volunteer that didn’t want their name used. If it continues it will be very difficult to provide any humanitarian relief to those that are displaced by the violence, said the volunteer.
The area is rich in teak forests. Prior to the outbreak of fighting most of the timber harvested from the area was shipped to Nongdao in China’s southwestern Yunnan province, passing through both government and KIO checkpoints along the way.
Fighting in Shan state
A brief clash also took place on Tuesday in northern Shan state's Mungji (also Mongsi) Township between KIA Battalion 2 (under KIA 4th brigade) soldiers and government forces, according to a KIA 4th brigade official based in the area.
Three Burma soldiers were killed by KIA fire. No one was killed from the KIA side, officers reported.
President Thein Sein's nominally civilian government and the KIO signed a seven-point agreement in May with measures to reduce tensions between the two sides. However fighting is continuing despite of this.
Earlier in the week, Sumlut Gam, a member of the KIO's negotiations team, publicly criticized the government side for breaching the May agreement and the ongoing attacks on KIO forces.
