War between Government, Independence Army Traps Hundreds of Chinese in Myanmar

Jan 19, 2015 09:19 AM EST

(Photo : Reuters) Soldiers pass their time as they guard the city in Lashio township May 30, 2013. Security forces struggled to control Buddhist mobs who burned Muslim homes on Wednesday for a second day in the northern Myanmar city of Lashio in a dangerous widening of ultra-nationalist Buddhist violence. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun (MYANMAR - Tags: MILITARY POLITICS CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

Buddhist monasteries and Christian churches became the temporary refuge for more than 2,000 residents of the state of Kachin after a fierce battle erupted between government soldiers and members of the Kachin Independent Army (KIA) over the weekend.

Included among those displaced by the war are hundreds of Chinese and children, reports AP.

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A spokesman for the KIA accuses the government troops of preventing the transfer of those who sought shelter in these religious institutions for safer places. KIA is guaranteeing the safe departure of the affected civilians from the war zone, said the ethnic army's commander in chief.

KIA initially abducted and held hostage a state transport minister who was in the area along with his party, according to Global New Light of Myanmar, a government-backed daily. While the minister was freed, his three police escort continue to be held by KIA, prompting the government to send soldiers to Kachin.

The government and KIA have been clashing the past months in the town of Bhamo in Kachin. During the November encounter, 23 trainees from the government troops died and 20 were hurt when the government attacked a KIA training school near Laiza.

In April, the two sides battled in three areas in heavily battered Kachin.

These encounters are happening even if the national government and KIA created in May 2014 a conflict mediation team, which is the initial step to implement the joint monitoring mechanism that the two sides agreed during bilateral peace talks.

As a result of the fresh rounds of battle in Kachin, the commander in chief of the government forces aired doubts on the commitment of KIA to end the civil war.

Senior General Min Aung Hlaing told Channel News Asia, "If they really want peace, there is no reason why they should not get it. If they wish to go along the path of democracy, and if they have the desire to bring unity and development in their region, they can choose the path. We cannot keep arguing. Disputes hinder the country's development."

TagsMyanmar, Civil war