The Kachin Independence Organization/Kachin Independence Army (KIO/KIA) has announced the abolition of Kachin State Special Region-1, established by the previous military regime in 1994. The group urged citizens and investors not to be alarmed by the move and invited them to cooperate for the comprehensive development of Kachin State.
The dissolution came after the KIA captured the whole of the region, which was previously controlled by warlord Zahkung Ting Ying.
A former junior commander in the KIA, Zahkung Ting Ying led the New Democratic Army-Kachin (NDA-K), which signed a truce with the previous regime and rebadged as the Border Guard Force (Kachin-BGF) in 2009, basing one BGF battalion each in Kanpiketi, Pangwa and Phimaw near the Chinese border.
In return, Zahkung Ting Ying was given control of Special Region-1, which encompassed Chipwi, Tsawlaw, Pangwa, Kanpiketi and Waingmaw townships. Chipwi and Pangwa are rare earth mining hubs.
The KIA said the junta’s designation of a special region within Kachin State had undermined the unity of the Kachin people, and it had therefore captured Special Region-1 to ensure ethnic people in Kachin State can live together without division and pursue equal development.
The group vowed to do its utmost to rebuild the state to enjoy prosperity based on humanitarian policies.
According to a Global Witness report released in May, Myanmar’s rare earth exports to China amounted to US$1.4 billion in 2023.
