KIO gives 100 million Kyat for Burma's Chin State flood relief

KIO Chairman Zawng Hra

The Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) donated 100 million (aprox US $90,000) Kyat to assist with flood relief in Chin State last week. The donation was made by the KIO to the Chin National Front (CNF) which will use the funds to distribute relief in flood affected areas in Chin state. The CNF leadership has publicly thanked the KIO for its generosity.

“We are very grateful for the donation of 100 million Kyats given by the KIO as most of the Chin people are worried about their futures and facing various hardships today. It is the worst natural disaster in Chin State’s history. This contribution shows deep sympathy towards the Chin people who are facing severe floods and landslides in Chin State,” said the CNF's General Secretary Pu Paul Sitha in a statement published by the Chin news site Khonumthung.

The CNF which was formed in the 1980's has had long standing ties with the KIO who trained many CNF soldiers over the years. In November last year two CNF troops were among the 23 trainees who were killed when the army shelled a training ground on the outskirts of the KIO's de facto capital Laiza.