Kachin peace activists and monks finally reached Laiza in Kachin State on Wednesday evening after being briefly held up by Burmese government troops. The marchers set off from Myingyan, Magwe Division, last month. The Burmese military stopped the march at Lajayang earlier in the week, claiming the road ahead was too dangerous, but after negotiations escorted the activists to the Kachin Independence Organization’s stronghold near the Chinese border where tens of thousands of civilians have taken shelter in internally displaced persons camps.