KIA rejects request to withdraw Kambaiti post

A Chinese banana truck on the Kambaiti road, drove back to the border.

The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) rejected a request on Thursday by the Burma Army Chief to withdraw the KIA post on the Kambaiti Road, in eastern Kachin State, said KIA officials.

Lt-Gen Soe Win, Deputy Commander-in-Chief made the request to the KIA leaders in the Laiza headquarters when he made a short visit to Sadung, near the KIA post, by military helicopter on Thursday, said KIA officials.

KIA officials quickly rejected Lt-Gen Soe Win’s request, according to KIA officers in Laiza.

The KIA Lahpai Post is one of the frontline posts of Battalion 3, which is under Brigade 5.

The visiting Burmese military chief praised the United Wa State Army (UWSA) and the National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA-Mongla) for accepting government peace offers. However, he criticized the KIA for rejecting a peace offer in Manmaw (Bhamo) on Wednesday, Sept. 21, Kachin state government sources said.

In Manmaw and Myitkyina, he pressed Kachin church leaders and the Kachin State Government, led by Lajawn Ngan Seng, to pressure the KIA to accept the peace offer, added state government sources.

Lt-Gen So Win also said the government has not launched a real offensive against the KIA so far.

However, more than 600 Burmese soldiers have been killed and hundreds injured since the civil war started in Kachin State and Shan State on June 9, said KIA officials.

In Kachin State, the only Kambaiti road is authorized by the Burmese government for border trade.

Since the civil war started in Kachin State on June 9, the KIA has banned the import of cement and other construction materials from China related to construction of the Irrawaddy Myitsone dam.

The Kambaiti Road is the second half of the Stilwell (Ledo) Road in Kachin State, which was reconstructed by the Chinese government in early 2006.

Now, the road is jointly controlled by the Burmese government and the KIA.