Myanmar army attacks Kachin camp: 23 dead and 13 wounded
Yangon (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Myanmar's army attacked a militia ethnic Kachin Independence
Army (KIA) training camp,
killing 23 cadets and wounding 13 others. Local sources said that the soldiers hurled grenades
and artillery shells into the
camp located not far from Laiza,
Kachin State, near the border with China. The raid occurred yesterday
around noon. La Nan,
a spokesman for Kia, said that 20
soldiers died on the spot,
while the injured were taken to the city hospital, where three more died later.
"It was an intentional attack"
the KIA spokesman says, adding that
there had been "fighting" earlier
in the morning, "between
8.30 and 9" in
an area a few kilometers from the
camp. The artillery shells
- of 105mm
- came from government
army "outposts" in "the
village of Kandaung", near Hkaya
Bum hill. "For us this is the worst loss
in a single attack."
In recent weeks peace talks between
the central government and leaders
of ethnic minorities, including the Kachin,
had been taking place in search of a negotiated cease-fire. Naypyidaw has made no official comments
on the matter, which could further
complicate the path to peace
and dialogue.
Hla Maung Shwe,
negotiator in the peace process from the Myanmar Peace Centre, confirms that he has been informed of the attack and that he had reported it to the government. "We
are trying to reduce the risk of similar
events," he says; in this regard, new talks are scheduled for next week.
Analysts and policy experts explain that there have been clashes and skirmishes between
the two sides in the past, but that
yesterday's episode was a "premeditated and deliberate attack on a non-threatening target ". The Kachin already doubt the true intentions of the army to reach an agreement; this episode is likely to put an end to any possible political
debate and dialogue.
Myanmar is made up of
over 135 ethnic groups, who have always struggled to live in harmony, in
particular with the central government and the majority Burmese. In the
past, the military junta has used brute force to tame the most recalcitrant,
including the Kachin in the homonymous region in the north, along the border
with China. After 17 years of relative calm, clashes were renewed in June 2011,
causing dozens of civilian deaths and at least 200 thousand displaced people. Last August, the bishops of the
region launched
an appeal for peace, hoping for a "permanent"
solution to the conflict.
.png)
29/03/2021 17:00
