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Burma attack breaks Kachin truce near China border | Burma attack breaks Kachin truce near China border |
(35 minutes later) | |
The Burmese army has launched a fresh attack on rebel Kachin forces in the north of the country, breaking a ceasefire announced by the government. | |
Burmese troops attacked a Kachin base just a few kilometres from Laiza, the capital of Kachin state, near the Chinese border. | |
Hundreds of Burmese troops could be seen crawling through the trees up the slopes, says the BBC's Jonathan Head. | |
Kachin fighters are fighting for greater autonomy in Burma. | |
The base was hit by sustained mortar and artillery fire, our correspondent adds. | |
He says if the base falls, there are few defences left to prevent the fall of Laiza, should the Burmese military decide to take it. | He says if the base falls, there are few defences left to prevent the fall of Laiza, should the Burmese military decide to take it. |
The government announced a ceasefire on Friday. | |
The Burmese army are fighting the Kachin Independence Army, which is the only major Kachin rebel group not to have agreed a long-standing ceasefire with the government. | |
The rebels are seeking greater autonomy within Burma for ethnic Kachins who have had de facto control over a part of northern Burma for more than 50 years. | |
Burma's new military-backed civilian government has pledged to resolve conflicts in border areas with ethnic minority groups. | |
But the Burmese army began a new offensive last month, after a 17-year truce with the rebels ended in mid-2011. | |
It appeared to agree a fresh ceasefire on Saturday, but that has now been broken. |