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Government Forces Killing Civilians in Kachin State, says Aid Organisation

Free Burma Rangers, a frontline provider of medical aid to displaced civilians in Burma, said that government forces killed a Kachin family of three on the 23 of March.

The Kachin conflict erupted in June 2011 when the Burma Army attacked Kachin Independence Army positions, shattering a 17-year-long ceasefire.

FBR said that Burma Army soldiers from the 10th Infantry Battalion killed a father, his wife and their son at Du Hku village, Kachin State. The village is located close to Kachin Independence Army positions.

“Despite recent meetings between senior representatives of the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), President Thein Sein and Burma Army military head Min Aung Hlaing to discuss a potential ceasefire agreement, incidents of aggression by the Burma Army have increased to levels not seen since initial fighting in 2011,” FBR said in a media statement.

FBR said it witnessed repeated air attacks from helicopter gunships and jet fighters throughout March.
A 2012 report by Human Rights Watch estimated that fighting in Kachin State had displaced 100,000 civilians. It also accused government forces of raping, torturing and killing civilians.

Civilians are most vulnerable in the conflict, with regular reports of abuse. In January, two 20 year-old Kachin teachers were raped and killed by government soldiers.

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