Villagers flee as fighting continues in southern Kachin state

Dozens of Kachin villagers living in southern Mansi (Manje) township fled their homes yesterday as fighting between Burma's military and troops loyal to the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) continued for the second straight day, according to church related aid groups monitoring the situation.

Over the last 48 hours the entire population of Kawng Ja Yang village has fled to nearby Mung Ding Pa village after fighting erupted between the Burma army and troops from the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) , a pastor from the Bhamo Kachin Baptist Association told the Kachin News Group.

The Pastor who wished to remain anonymous told KNG that his church group is very concerned about the fate of the displaced villagers but it is impossible to assist them because the fighting has meant that doing is so too dangerous.

The fighting which resumed at 7 AM local time this morning, raged for several hours today near Nam Hpu village, said Zau Seng, a senior KIA officer based at the KIA 3rd Brigade headquarters in Mai Ja Yang.

The bodies of two Burma army soldiers believed to have been killed during yesterday's clashes were also found near Kawng Ja Yang, according to Zau Seng.  It is unclear if the KIA lost any of their men during the fighting.

According to the church volunteer the Burma army appears to be sending more troop reinforcements to the area in apparent preparation for more fighting.  If the fighting does indeed continue it will be very difficult to provide humanitarian relief to those displaced in the area, he said.

Both of the KIA units involved in the fighting, Battalions 12 and  27, are under the KIA's 3rd Brigade and based in Mansi close to the Shan state border, an area known for large amounts of teak.  Prior to the outbreak of fighting most of the timber harvested from the area was shipped to Nongdao in China’s southwestern Yunnan province, passing through both government and KIO checkpoints along the way.
Fighting in Shan state
A brief firefight also took place yesterday in northern Shan state's Mungji (also Mongsi) township between troops from KIA Battalion 2 (under KIA 4th brigade) and government forces, according to a KIA 4th brigade official based in the area.

According to KIA officers, three Burmese soldiers were killed by KIA fire.  The officers reported that no one from their side was killed during the fighting.

President Thein Sein's nominally civilian government and the KIO signed a 7 point agreement in May that included measures to reduce tensions between the two sides.  Despite the good will expressed in the May agreement, Burma army troops and KIO forces have continued to clash on a regular basis.

Earlier this week, Sumlut Gam, a member of the KIO's negotiations team, publicly criticized the government side for breaching the May agreement and continuing attacks on KIO forces.

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