Burma-Myanmar: Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and Burma army clash amid ongoing ethnic summit
As ethnic armed groups gathered in Kachin State’s Mai Ja Yang to search for common ground toward federalism in Burma, clashes broke out twice on Thursday between the Burma Army and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA)—the armed wing of Kachin Independence Organization (KIO).
Battalion No. 2 under KIA Brigade No. 6 and battalions under the Burma Army’s 10th Military Operations Commands (MOC-10) clashed twice at Hopong Mountain in northern Shan State’s Kutkai Township, said Lt Col Naw Bu, a KIO information officer.
“[Our troops] said three military columns from the Burma Army surrounded them. At first, they attacked with small arms, but later there was artillery support,” Naw Bu told The Irrawaddy.
The casualties incurred on both sides were not immediately clear. The KIA also claimed that the Burma Army was conducting military activities near Battalion No. 14 under KIA Brigade No. 2 in Tanai Township.