Residents of Laiza, on the Sino-Burma border, were forced to accept medicine distributed by Kachin State Northern Commander Maj-Gen Soe Win on Sunday, a source said. Laiza is the headquarters of Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) controlled areas.

KIO authorities in Laiza forced some residents to accept the medicine distributed by the Kachin State commander, a resident said.

The distributed medicines included child care medicine and those for pregnant women but no one was interested in taking the medicine, a resident in Laiza told KNG.

The reason people didn't want to accept the medicine was that the last time, Commander Soe Win came to Laiza after being transferred to Kachin State, he had distributed medicines which were old and could not be used because the date of expiry was over.

In the evening, the commander played golf with KIO officials at the new Laiza golf club after distributing the medicine, said a KIO official.

The KIO officials playing golf with the commander did not go down well with the residents because they felt that though there was a ceasefire the KIO and the junta were politically poles apart.