Burma army and KIO battle near UWSA territory

KIA troops who resist the offensive of Burmese government's troops in Mongkoe area in Northern Shan state.

Fighting between government forces and troops loyal to the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) took place near an area controlled by the United Wa State Army (UWSA) in Shan state last Wednesday, according to KIO sources.

The brief battle which lasted about half an hour occurred near Nam Jarap village in an area located between Thinni and Gan Mying.  The section of northern Shan state where the fighting took place is in territory controlled by Battalion 17 of the Kachin Independence Army’s 4th Brigade, according to a KIA officer stationed in Shan state.

During the clash KIA forces destroyed one of the four military trucks carrying troops which intruded into the KIA’s battalion 17 area earlier on Wednesday, the KIA officer said.

According to eye witnesses, several injured soldiers were carried back to Lashio for treatment. It is unclear if any of the soldiers died from their wounds.

After the fighting, five military trucks carrying Burmese troops, weapons and rations were deployed to three military bases near Konlong in UWSA territory. The bases were at Nam Jarap, Konlong and Gan Mying, the KIA officer said.

KIO and government forces have continued to engage in armed hostilities on a regular basis in territory close to the Shwe gas pipeline in northern Shan state including in the Mongkoe area. Fighting has also taken place further east in KIO areas which are adjacent to territory controlled by the UWSA, Burma's largest armed rebel group.

Unlike the KIO’s 4th brigade region in Shan state, there have been no significant clashes between Burmese forces and KIO in Kachin state for the last few months. Representatives of both groups are scheduled to meet on May 28 in the government controlled town of Myitkyina.

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