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               Burmese Rebels Claim to Have Retaken Vital Outpost

   by Ron Corben

   Burmese rebels facing intense fighting say they have retaken a key
   outpost near the Kachin-rebel headquarters.   The rebel Kachin
   Independence Army says it has reclaimed the northern Burma position
   after briefly retreating.
   Weekend fighting around the Hka Ya Bhum mountain post intensified with
   up to 3,000 Burmese troops attacking the lookout, considered a last
   line of defense protecting the rebel headquarters in Laiza, near the
   border with China.  The rebel outpost reportedly fell in the face of
   heavy artillery and air attack from government forces.
   But Kachin Independence Army spokesman Colonel James Lum Dau claimed in
   a statement to VOA late Sunday that rebel forces had retaken the post.
   Information in the rebel statement could not be independently
   confirmed.
   Rights groups say in addition to the Laiza's 20,000 population, there
   are an estimated 20,000 internally displaced people living nearby.
   Recent fighting in northern Kachin state has included government use of
   Russian-made Mi-35 gunship helicopters and fighter aircraft against
   Kachin positions.  There is no confirmed death toll.
   The fighting that began in mid-2011 ended a 17-year cease-fire
   agreement between Burma's army and Kachin forces.
   A defense analyst at Australia's New University of New South Wales,
   Carl Thayer, says Burma's army is pressing for a new cease-fire with
   the Kachin forces.
   "The strategy is obviously to gain an upper hand over the Kachin ,"
   Thayer said. "If the momentum is swinging and they can push and seize
   the capital, then the cease-fire comes and they have it in place - the
   attempt to get a cease-fire would cause the military to push even
   harder because it would solidify the gains it has got on the ground."
   A Kachin studies' senior researcher at Estonia's Tallinn University,
   Karin Dean, says the rebels may be facing a "critical moment" in the
   struggle for autonomy.
   "The conflict has escalated, there is even more violence than there was
   months ago," Dean said. "That started with the bombing just around
   Christmas time.  Maybe it is a critical moment.  Of course the
   government has the power and equipment, well equipped to perhaps take
   over Laiza and crush the Kachin positions.  But it will not be able to
   stop the violence.  The KIO [Kachin Independence Organization] may have
   another tactic on the ground.  It cannot really crush the resistance.
   There will be political resistance."
   Dean says central government control would undermine economic gains
   made during the cease-fire years.  The Kachin-controlled economy
   benefited by trade and business ties with China and gains in the
   teaching of the Kachin language at schools.
   U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs spokesman
   Stewart Davies says international organizations are calling for access
   to conflict areas amid fears for the welfare of tens of thousands of
   internally displaced in Kachin state.
   "More than ever now we are concerned about civilians caught in this
   conflict and really to try to reiterate that we have got a concern for
   75,000 people already and has since June of last year," Davies said.
   "So our key message is we continue to advocate government to get access
   - we need access first and then we can follow up."
   Analysts say Burma's government is seeking to extend control over a
   region rich in resources.  Several countries, including the United
   States, and the United Nations have raised concerns over the rising
   violence.  But Burma's state-controlled media challenged the criticism,
   accusing the Kachin of terrorist actions and atrocities.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/burmese-rebels-claim-to-have-retaken-
   vital-outpost/1591882.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/burmese-rebels-claim-to-have-retaken-vital-outpost/1591882.html