Kachin conflict | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of the Internal conflict in Burma | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
Myanmar Armed Forces |
Kachin Independence Organisation All Burma Students' Democratic Front[1] Arakan Army [2] | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
20,000 (Approx) | 3,000 (Approx) | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Myanmar Army= between 5000-10,000 killed (KIA claim)[3] | Kachin Independence Army= Over 700 killed (between June 2011- September 2012)[3] | ||||||
Civilians: Hundreds killed, over 100,000 displaced |
The Kachin conflict is one of multiple conflicts collectively referred to as the Burmese Civil War. Fighting between the Kachin Independence Army and Myanmar Army restarted in June, 2011 after a 17 year-old ceasefire broke down. The conflict has resulted in the deaths of thousands of people, the displacement of over 100,000 people and the widespread use of landmines, child soldiers, systematic rape and torture.
Background
The Kachin Independence Movement was founded during the British colonial occupation of Burma in the 1940s. Its purpose was to address questions of ethnic group and minority representation and rights in the predominantly Bamar country of Burma.
The conflict (1961–1994)
Conflicts in Kachin State and other Kachin populated areas have occurred since Burmese independence from the United Kingdom. Kachin troops formerly formed a significant part of the Burmese army. With the unilateral abrogation of the Union of Burma constitution by the Ne Win regime in 1962, Kachin forces withdrew and formed the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) under the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO). Aside from the major towns and railway corridor, Kachin State has been virtually independent from the mid 1960s through 1994, with an economy based on smuggling, jade trade with China and narcotics.
After a Myanmar army offensive in 1994 seized the jade mines from the KIO, the Kachin Independence Army signed a peace agreement with the Government of Myanmar on February 24, 1994 which resulted in an end to large scale fighting and lasted until June, 2011.
Renewed fighting (2011–present)
Fighting erupted between Kachin Independence Army and Myanmar Army troops on June 9, 2011 when government forces broke the ceasefire and attacked KIA positions along the Taping river east of Bhamo, Kachin State.[4] According to news reports fighting broke out as a result of the central government attempting to take control of Kachin Independence Army controlled areas and attempts to secure areas around lucrative energy projects in Kachin and Shan state, the majority of which are backed by the Chinese Government.[5]
Heavy fighting continued into 2012 and Kachin Independence Army leaders acknowledged that at least 700 of their fighters had been killed in battles with the Burmese Army who they claimed had lost between 5,000 and 10,000 soldiers.[3][6][7] Civilians have also been killed in fighting as well as having been targeted themselves. Civilians were often displaced by fighting and faced dangers such as landmines which were frequently laid by government and rebel forces without regard for civilians. Refugees were being forced by the Chinese Government back into Myanmar in 2012 despite the continued fighting there and the illegality of doing so under international law.[8]
Women have played a significant role in the conflict as both combatants and victims. Time Magazine documented the presence of many female KIA soldiers in 2012.[9]
Cease-fire Talks
Numerous rounds of ceasefire talks have taken place between the Kachin Independence Army and the Government of Myanmar since fighting restarted in June, 2011. According to a December 18, 2012 report by the Swedish journalist Bertil Lintner in the Hong Kong based Asia Times Online, many people have criticized the foreign backed ceasefire efforts for "avoiding discussions of political issues and only emphasizing ceasefires, disarmament and economic development, those interlocutors - including a "Peace Support Initiative" sponsored by the Norwegian government and in a separate initiative the Switzerland-based Center for Humanitarian Dialog - are essentially promoting the government's view."[4]
Use of Air-strikes
On 2 January 2013, the Burmese government confirmed that it carried out air strikes a few days earlier against the ethnic rebels in northern Kachin, in response to attacks by the Kachin Independence Army.[10] The U.S. Government stated that it would "be formally expressing our concern" over the escalation of force used by Myanmar Government.[11] On January 3, 2012 the KIA alleged that air-strikes had continued to occur for the sixth consecutive day in the area around Laiza and there were allegations that the Myanmar Armed Forces was also using chemical weapons[12] UN Secretary General Ban Ki Boon stated following the incidents that Burma's authorities should "desist from any action that could endanger the lives of civilians living in the area or further intensify conflict in the region." [13]
References
- ^ No Christmas Armistice in Kachin State, By SIMON ROUGHNEEN, THE IRRAWADDY, December 24, 2012, http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/22042
- ^ Irrawaddy, Far From Home, Arakan Rebels Fight on Kachin Frontline, December 28, 2012, http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/22475
- ^ a b c Time for Thein Sein to come clean about Burmese losses in Kachin state, Kachin News, 22 September 2012 By Edward Chung Ho, http://kachinnews.com/news/2408-time-for-thein-sein-to-come-clean-about-burmese-losses-in-kachin-state.html
- ^ a b More war than peace in Myanmar, By Bertil Lintner, Asian Times, December 18, 2012
- ^ Kachin army ambush leaves 30 dead, By DVB Published: 8 July 2011, http://www.dvb.no/news/kachin-army-ambush-leaves-30-dead/16494
- ^ 31 dead in new clashes with Kachin: Myanmar paper,May 5, 2012, http://dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2012\05\05\story_5-5-2012_pg14_7
- ^ KIA says 211 army soldiers die in two-month fighting in Hpakant, Oct. 10, 2012, http://www.kachinnews.com/news/2418-kia-says-211-army-soldiers-die-in-two-month-fighting-in-hpakant.html
- ^ BBC, 24 August 2012 Last updated at 08:02 GMT, China 'forcing Kachin refugees back to Burma', http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-19365075
- ^ Time Magazine, April 19, 2012, By Joe Jackson, On the Front Lines with the Kachin Independence Army, http://lightbox.time.com/2012/04/19/kia/#ixzz2FgswYz5J
- ^ "Burma Admits Air Strikes Targeted Kachin Rebels". Voice of America. 2 January 2013. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
- ^ U.S. State Dept. Breifing, January 2, 2012, http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2013/01/202436.htm#BURMA
- ^ Irrawaddy, Kachin War Strays to Chinese Soil, January 2, 2012, http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/22883
- ^ The Age, Burmese military admits air strike on rebels, January 3, 2012, http://www.theage.com.au/world/burmese-military-admits-air-strike-on-rebels-20130103-2c77a.html