Burmese government's armed forces have been fighting relentlessly against the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) since 9 June last year. But, Burma Army's offensives were in vain as the KIO's armed wing, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), has been practicing the guerrilla warfare in their native land.
KIA soldiers' strength of mind is still high because they consider themselves as freedom fighters in their own geographical landscape. However, at the same time, the Burmese Government soldiers have low guts since they have to fight against their adversaries in a war zone which is not familiar to them. Besides, they even haven't enough food, ammunition and medicine supplies in their base units.
According to Officials from the Kachin Independence Army, the Burmese army has suffered serious fatalities since the KIA resistance troops use surprise ambush-attacks. As said by the KIO, intercepts of government army's radio messages reveal a shocking number of lethally wounded soldiers on the side of the Burmese army.
Although Burma's President Thein Sein have issued an instruction twice to the Burma"s Commander-in-Chief to halt the offensive against the KIO, the war continues and the people continue to run away for their lives.
Burma's armed
forces continued nonstop to attack positions held by the Kachin Independence
Army (KIA) in Kachin and northern Shan state. In the face of President Thein
Sein's second-time order to halt the offensive against Kachin rebels, t he Burmese army so far has
continued its aggressive operation against the KIA and Kachin civilians.
Fighting between government forces and the Kachin resistance was particularly
fierce these days in an area of northern Shan state scheduled to be the route
of the Burma to China Shwe-gas pipeline project. The KIA's Battalion 8
endured heavy shelling in three Shan townships that lie in the path of the
pipeline, Namtu, Mandong and Kutkai quoting sources on the ground Kachin News
Group said.
A key Battalion 8 base in Mandong stayed in KIA hands despite a strong push from government forces, which included a continuous three hour long bombardment using heavy mortars, KIA officials said.
The Kachin News Group has also observed that on Tuesday,
one day ahead of peace talks were set to begin in China, the Burmese army moved
troops, artillery shells and armored vehicles to an area within firing range of
the KIO's Laiza headquarters. The equipment and troop reinforcements that
arrived are now stationed in Ga Ra Yang village less than 30 miles from Laiza,
according to eyewitnesses in the area.
On January 15, a convey of 25 trucks containing government troops arrived at a
Burma Army base in Daw-hpum-yang sub-township on the Myitkyina-Manmaw road,
about 10 miles from Laiza, said local military observers.
In an interview with Lah Nan, the KIO's Deputy General Secretary No.2 based at
the groups Laiza headquarters, he told the Kachin News Group that about 160
government's battalions from around the country are either currently deployed
in the Kachin campaign or are on their way to frontlines of Kachin and northern
Shan state.
Several Kachin citizens believe the reason of renewing the war after a 17-year cease-fire is craving for natural resources in Kachin State by the Burmese military-backed government. That's why it strive widening its control of the areas with Chinese power projects.
Those energy projects in the areas controlled by the KIA are a cause of tension. After protests last year by Kachin civilians, President Thein Sein postponed the Myitsone dam project sponsored by a Chinese company sharing with the Burmese military. The postponement annoyed Chinese officials who think Thein Sein of trying to minimize Burma's over trust on China and to persuade investment from the Western democracies.
According to Agence France-Presse, Burma's immigration and population minister, Khin Yi said that the latest order to halt hostilities "covers the whole country". Khin Yi, who previously served as national police chief claimed that the reason fighting was still taking place, is because the army was accidentally encountered with the resistance.
"Some
of the grassroots level units, when on patrolling duty, unexpectedly met each
other and exchanged fire. Sometimes, the order - not to attack - did not reach
to the grassroots level," Khin Yi said AFP.
However, KIA officials and others with knowledge of the government armed forces
say that the heavy artillery fired in these days in Shan state against the KIA
are only used with permission from the Burma Army's central command.
It's visibly clear that President Thein Sein's proper commands to stop the offensive are definitely worthless statements issued to satisfy the international community. It seems to be a deceitful tactic.
If it is true, the government has no earnest purpose to stop the war against not only the KIO/KIA but also the innocent Kachin civilians. Thus, Western democracies must think over and over again lifting of sanctions as a reward for Thein Sein government.
