• Burmese
Friday, June 20, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
26 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home News Burma

Talks Ongoing Over Police Officers’ Release in Kachin State

Saw Yan Naing by Saw Yan Naing
January 19, 2015
in Uncategorized
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0 0
A A
Talks Ongoing Over Police Officers’ Release in Kachin State

Kachin Independence Army soldiers wear gas masks near Laiza in Kachin State in 2011. (Photo: The Irrawaddy)

3.6k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Negotiations are ongoing in Kachin State over the detention of three police officers there last week, an incident that is believed to have spawned the latest fighting in the region between government troops and ethnic Kachin armed rebels.

The three officers were detained, along with the Kachin State transportation minister, by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) on Wednesday. The minister, Kaman Du Naw, was released later the same day, but the three police personnel remain in KIA hands.

The following day, fighting between the Burma Army and KIA troops broke out near two villages in Hpakant Township, forcing more than 1,000 people from their homes and shuttering mining operations in the jade-rich region northwest of Myitkyina, the Kachin State capital.

RelatedPosts

Myanmar’s Dictator Extends Emergency Rule Again, Citing Election Preparations

Myanmar’s Dictator Extends Emergency Rule Again, Citing Election Preparations

July 31, 2024
3.2k
Governor of China’s Yunnan, Myanmar Junta Boss Discuss Ways to Resume Border Trade

Governor of China’s Yunnan, Myanmar Junta Boss Discuss Ways to Resume Border Trade

February 21, 2024
1.8k
Firefight Erupts as Myanmar Junta Troops Halt PNLO Arms Convoy in Shan State

Firefight Erupts as Myanmar Junta Troops Halt PNLO Arms Convoy in Shan State

January 23, 2024
2.4k

On Sunday, a delegation from the Kachin Peace Creation Group, a Kachin organization mediating peace talks between the KIA’s political wing, the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), and the government, went to Hpakant town to discuss the release of the three detained police officers.

Speaking from Hpakant on Monday, Lamai Gum Ja, a spokesperson for the Kachin Peace Creation Group, said the KIA would release the three detainees later today.

“They [KIA] will release them without condition. They will tell us where to receive the hostages. We are now waiting for their call,” Lamai Gum Ja told The Irrawaddy.

He said that because hostilities continued between the government and the KIA intermittently through the weekend, mining operations Hpakant Township had been suspended.

Sutdu Yup Zau Hkawng, a member of the Kachin Peace Creation Group and head of the Jade Land Company, a leading mining firm in Hpakant, confirmed the mines’ temporary closure.

“Because the fighting continues, mining operations are now being shut down. This normally happens when there is fighting anytime [in Hpakant].”

Local residents in the town of Hpakant said fighting also took place around the village of Lone Kin over the weekend, with an unknown number of casualties on the KIA side.

U Cho, a local resident in Hpakant, said the situation has been further complicated by some angry small-scale miners in the area who have taken to setting fire to oil tanks that belong to Burmese mining companies operating jade mines in the area.

The displaced villagers and, according to Reuters, hundreds of Chinese miners and traders are taking shelter in local churches in Hpakant Township’s Aung Bar Lay and Tagaungs villages. Residents are questioned and searched by local authorities when going out at night.

Lamai Gum Ja said the Kachin Peace Creation Group planned to meet with the displaced populations on Tuesday.

“We have already asked the head of the Burma Army’s unit in Hpakant for permission,” he said.

According to local sources, more than 1,000 residents were affected by the fighting in Kachin State’s Hpakant Township.

If conditions condition to deteriorate, martial law is likely to be declared, U Cho said.

The latest Kachin State violence comes as ethnic leaders and government negotiators continue to target the signing of a nationwide ceasefire accord on Feb. 12. The KIA is one of two major ethnic armed groups that have not signed a bilateral agreement with the government.

Fighting has taken place sporadically since a 17-year ceasefire between the KIA and government broke down in 2011. Prior to last week, the latest violence came in November, when the Burma Army shelled a rebel training academy outside of Myitkyina, killing 22 cadets in the deadliest attack on an ethnic armed group in years.

Responding to media inquiries over the fighting in Kachin, presidential spokesman and Minister of Information Ye Htut claimed that a faction within the KIO that does not want a nationwide ceasefire agreement to be signed next month was behind the three police officers’ detention last week.

“We are led to believe that a group that wants to destroy the peace process and create obstacles on the path to reaching a nationwide ceasefire agreement intentionally committed the move,” Ye Htut wrote on his Facebook page.

Your Thoughts …
Tags: Conflict
Saw Yan Naing

Saw Yan Naing

The Irrawaddy

Similar Picks:

Myanmar’s Dictator Extends Emergency Rule Again, Citing Election Preparations
Politics

Myanmar’s Dictator Extends Emergency Rule Again, Citing Election Preparations

by The Irrawaddy
July 31, 2024
3.2k

Coup-maker Min Aung Hlaing says he needs another six months to impose stability and security, and compile accurate voter lists,...

Read moreDetails
Assamese Journalist Shines Light on One of Asia’s Murkiest Conflicts
Books

Assamese Journalist Shines Light on One of Asia’s Murkiest Conflicts

by Bertil Lintner
January 8, 2024
2.5k

A new book by Rajeev Bhattacharyya charts the history of ULFA, which continues to battle the Indian government, including from...

Read moreDetails
Firefight Erupts as Myanmar Junta Troops Halt PNLO Arms Convoy in Shan State
Burma

Firefight Erupts as Myanmar Junta Troops Halt PNLO Arms Convoy in Shan State

by Brian Wei
January 23, 2024
2.4k

The PNLO burned the weapons rather than hand them over. The group’s leader said the incident would not affect his...

Read moreDetails
Myanmar’s Northern Alliance ‘Not Interested’ in Empty Peace Talks With Junta
Interview

Myanmar’s Northern Alliance ‘Not Interested’ in Empty Peace Talks With Junta

by The Irrawaddy
July 27, 2023
2.2k

A representative from the ethnic armed coalition sheds light on its latest meeting with the military regime.

Read moreDetails
Governor of China’s Yunnan, Myanmar Junta Boss Discuss Ways to Resume Border Trade
Myanmar-China Watch

Governor of China’s Yunnan, Myanmar Junta Boss Discuss Ways to Resume Border Trade

by The Irrawaddy
February 21, 2024
1.8k

Wang Yubo’s visit to Naypyitaw is the first by a senior Chinese official since Beijing brokered a ceasefire between ethnic...

Read moreDetails
Foreign Investment in Myanmar Plunges 60% on-Year in First Quarter
Economy

Foreign Investment in Myanmar Plunges 60% on-Year in First Quarter

by Hein Htoo Zan
June 8, 2023
7.4k

Investors are shunning the junta-ruled country due to conflict, financial mismanagement and crumbling infrastructure, experts say.

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
Kyaukphyu SEZ Winners to be Announced in February

Kyaukphyu SEZ Winners to be Announced in February

Upper House to Debate ‘Protection Bills’

Upper House to Debate ‘Protection Bills’

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

Myanmar Tourism Sector Mocks Junta’s Russia Tourist Drive

Myanmar Tourism Sector Mocks Junta’s Russia Tourist Drive

6 days ago
1.7k
Untested Commander Takes Charge as Myanmar Military Faces Toughest Challenge in Decades

Untested Commander Takes Charge as Myanmar Military Faces Toughest Challenge in Decades

6 days ago
1.8k

Most Read

  • On Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s Birthday, Recalling the Cake That Rattled the Junta

    On Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s Birthday, Recalling the Cake That Rattled the Junta

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Global Campaign Reaches Goal to Honor Aung San Suu Kyi on Her 80th Birthday

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Bago Resistance Claims 20 Myanmar Junta Personnel Killed

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Thai PM Faces Growing Calls to Quit in Cambodia Phone Row

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • ADB Announces Record $100m Quake Aid Package for Myanmar

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.