Kachin Rebels: Myanmar Ignoring Ceasefire

Kachin Rebels Say Myanmar Ignoring Ceasefire -- Al Jazeera

KIA spokesman says army resumed attack on rebel positions despite president's ceasefire order and offer of peace talks.

Myanmar troops have attacked rebel positions in northeast Kachin despite a ceasefire order from the president and an invitation to the rebels to take part in peace talks, a rebel spokesman and a local source have said.

President Thein Sein issued the ceasefire order to troops in the La Ja Yang area of Kachin near the border with China, where fighting has been fiercest.

It due to take effect on Saturday morning, but Colonel James Lum Dau, a Thai-based spokesman for the Kachin
Independence Army (KIA), told the Reuters news agency the army had continued to attack over the weekend, both in La Ja Yang and elsewhere in the state.

An offencive in La Ja Yang on Sunday morning had involved artillery and infantry, he said.

A 17-year ceasefire with the KIA broke down in June 2011 and fighting has been particularly intense in recent weeks.

Twenty months of fighting has displaced tens of thousands of people and, for some analysts, raised doubts about the sincerity of all the political and economic reforms pursued by Thein Sein in Myanmar.

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More News On The Conflict Between Burma And Kachin Insurgents

Despite Cease-Fire, Fighting Continues in Burma's Kachin State -- Voice of America
Burma troops attack Kachin rebels -- BBC
Myanmar rebels say army ignoring president's ceasefire -- Reuters
Burma attack breaks Kachin truce near China border -- BBC
Myanmar Calls for Kachin Peace Talks as Cease-Fire Tested -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Rebels Say Clashes Persist in Myanmar -- Wall Street Journal
Ban Ki-moon hails Kachin “ceasefire” as fighting continues -- Burma News International
Take Kachin truce seriously, Myanmar told -- UPI
Kachin rebels defiant on Burma's northern front line -- BBC