7 Burma army soldiers die in two separate clashes with KIA

BURMA ARMY'S MILITARY GAME.

Seven soldiers from Burma's military are believed to have died on Monday following clashes with the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in two separate places in northern Kachin state, according KIA sources.

The first of the lethal clashes took place Monday morning east of Kamaing in the jade rich Hpakant district located in the west of the war torn state. Three government soldiers were killed and several more injured during the short battle which saw troops from the KIA’s Battalion 6 face off against the army.

Four more government soldiers are believed have died after the vehicle they were traveling in came under attack from Kachin resistance forces on the Myitkyina to Putao road, according to local residents. The vehicle was part of a military convoy consisting of more than 30 trucks which was heading north. The incident occurred between Tayang Zup and Sup Hka where clashes have been ongoing between Burma's military and forces from the KIA’s 1st Brigade over the past few days.

Led by former general turned President Thein Sein, Burma's nominally civilian government last week sent thousands of reinforcements to Kachin state. Most of the new troops arrived via train in Myitkyina last Friday eyewitnesses tell the Kachin New Group. According to sources on the ground most of the fresh troops were then sent to government positions that face KIA strongholds in the east, west and north of Kachin state.

Officers at the KIA's Laiza headquarters told the Kachin News Group that an estimated 1,000 new combat troops have arrived over the past few days to reinforce army positions near Laiza. Laiza is home to at an estimated 30,000 refugees who face an uncertain future as the government appears ready to launch a large scale assault on the de facto Kachin rebel capital.

The army's reinforcements were sent shortly after the latest round of peace talks between Burma's government and the KIA's political wing the Kachin Independence Organization ended in the Chinese city of Ruili without agreement. The move to send more troops to the frontlines also comes less than 10 days before US president Barrack Obama is set to travel to Burma, the first visit by a sitting US president in Burmese history.