Kachin

Burma’s recent reforms have failed to improve the country’s human rights situation, say rights groups. Over the past year, Burma’s civilian government has released nearly 400 political prisoners, relaxed media censorship, and permitted opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy party to assume 43 parliamentary seats it won in a 2012 by-election. Human rights groups…

Kachin activists based in Thailand demonstrated in front of both the US and China consulates in Chiang Mai calling for an end to the Burma Army offensive in Kachin State Friday last week. The protest lasted around 20 minutes at the Chinese consulate before continuing at the US consulate. Speaking to Karen News, Ma Hsai Zin, a member of the…

Burma’s Army launched new air and artillery strikes against the Kachin Independence Army on the 18th of January despite the government announcing a ceasefire to begin 6am on Saturday. Humanitarian groups monitoring the situation from inside Kachin State said air strikes had stopped but heavy artillery continues to bombarded KIA positions. The ceasefire announcement comes as the U.S. and UK…

Two of Burma’s most significant opposition alliances have united to condemn the government’s escalation of the Kachin conflict and criticize the ceasefire it announced on Saturday. The United Nationalities Federal Council and The National Council of the Union of Burma have released statements condemning President U Thein Sien’s government’s war in Kachin State as a step backward in achieving peace…

International and local human rights groups have demanded the USA and UK pressure Thein Sein’s government to stop the Burma Army’s use of air and artillery bombardments against the Kachin. In the most recent attack on the Kachin town of Laiza the Burma Army fired heavy artillery into civilian areas – killing three and wounding a number of people. British…

Since December, Burma Army’s use of helicopter gunships and jets to support ground offensives against Kachin Independence Army (KIA), with civilians being killed in the crossfire. New offensives
have opened in Lajayang, Pang Wa, and Nam San Yang. The humanitarian organisation, Free Burma Rangers (FBR), which delivers aid to IDP’s in the area of conflict, says attacks have occurred in Hpum…

The United Nationalities Federal Council says they have come to a common agreement and are now prepared to help the Kachin if the government troops do not stop their offensive in Kachin State. The alliance group made the public statement at a press conference held on the Thai-Burma border saying they have agreed on ways of helping Kachin from their…

First use of airstrikes by the government in twenty years raises prospect of increased numbers of civilian deaths in conflict areas – community groups condemned air strikes. The Burma Army’s appalling human rights abuses, especially in the conflict zones of ethnic states is well documented by international humanitarian groups, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International On 2 January 2013,…

Naing Han Tha, a spokesperson for a key ethnic alliance, the United Nationalities Federal Council compared the attacks on the Kachin by the Burma government’s military as an attack on all ethnic people in the country. Naing Han Tha, the general secretary of the UNFC told Karen News that its members are opposed to the government’s attacks on the Kachin.…

The Ethnic Human Rights Network issued a public statement calling on Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her political party, the National Liberation Party, to take a stand against the abuses being committed in Kachin State by the Burma military. The Ethnic Human Rights Network statement said the fighting in Kachin State had resulted in “human rights violations such as…