A soldier of KIA battalion 36 at the frontline in Kai Gwi Kawng near Mungbaw village in Muse district in Northern Shan State, Burma

The fighting takes place during the final week of a four-month unilateral ceasefire declared by the Tatmadaw.

Forces belonging to the Burma Army clashed multiple times with the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in northern Shan State’s Muse District for three consecutive days starting this weekend.

The fighting took place in the last week of a four-month unilateral ceasefire declared by the Burmese military in December 2018.

“We had battles on Kai Dwi Bum hill this morning at around 6:30 a.m.,” an officer from the KIA’s Brigade 6 told KNG on Monday, on the condition of anonymity. The officer said that Brigade 6’s Battalion No. 36 fought multiple military columns, including soldiers from the Tatmadaw’s Light Infantry Division 99.

“I heard that our forces withdrew from Kai Dwi Bum hill. Four military columns from the Burma Army launched a military operation to attack us,” he added.

Sources within the KIA speculated that the government forces were aiming to seize the village of Howa, Battalion No. 36’s headquarters. They also said that the Tatmadaw had gathered 300 troops near the village of Dima to attack another Brigade 6 Battalion—No. 9.

Members of the Kachin Independence Organization’s (KIO) central committee met representatives from the Peace-talk Creation Group (PCG) in the KIO headquarters of Laiza on Saturday to discuss a bilateral ceasefire agreement with the government. The PCG said on Sunday that they would confirm the possibility of talks on a ceasefire after the meeting.

“It’s still unsure, even though they plan to meet on April 30,” PCG member Lamai Gum Ja told KNG, referring to talks between the KIO and government. Representatives of the government’s National Reconciliation and Peace Center, the KIO, the Ta’ang National Liberation Army, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, and the Arakan Army are expected to attend the meeting at the end of the month.