Political Parties Want Offensives To End

Political Parties Want Offensives To End

An alliance of political parties in Kachin State has demanded that the Burma Army stop its offensives that are happening in advance of the Union Peace Conference (also called the 21st Century Panglong Conference) planned for this Wednesday.

The Kachin Parties Coordination Committee (KPCC)—that consists of the Kachin Democratic Party, Lhaovo National Unity and Development Party, and Kachin State Democracy Party—issued a statement that said in the eyes of the people and international community the attacks harm the integrity of the peace conference.

Just days after the Maijayang Summit brought most of the country’s ethnic armed groups together for peace discussions—a gathering that was publically criticized by the Burma Army—it started attacking the Kachin Independence Army's (KIA) Battalion 14 in Hukawng Valley.

The fighting has also broken out in several other areas of the state, displacing many civilians.

About two-hundred have been reportedly pushed over the border into China.

Last week, after suffering high casualties the Burma Army reportedly deployed two Russian-made Mi-35 attack helicopters during fighting with KIA Mobile Battalion 235 camps located around Nhkram Bum Mountain—near the KIA’s political wing, Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO) Laiza headquarters.

KIO information officer Lt Col Naw Bu said the Burma Army may be launching the offensives to pressure the ethnic armed groups that have not signed the nationwide ceasefire agreement to take part in last year's controversial pact that was rejected by the majority of the most prominent groups.