KIA recruiting new troops as tensions with junta rise
Posted on March 5, 2010
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KIA soldiers source: KNG
As the winds of war continue to blow through Burma’s northern Shan State, the Kachin Independence Organisation’s armed wing the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) has started recruiting new soldiers.
The Kachin News Group (KNG) reports that according to local villagers, for the last week the KIA has been recruiting villagers in northeast Shan State.
KNG also reports cases of youth fleeing their villages to avoid recruitment.
Following its ceasefire agreement with the junta in 1994, the KIO stopped recruitment, so the latest move is a sign of how serious the standoff between the government and the rebels is.
Relations between the KIO and Burma’s ruling military junta have been strained since the KIO rejected a proposal by the military for the KIA to transform into a Border Guard Force (BGF) under the command of the Burmese military.
The two sides have recently held talks over the BGF proposal, but failed to reach agreement.
The KIO’s central committee has been meeting at its headquarters near the Sino-Burma border to discuss their next step.
The area is home to several armed ethnic groups that have rejected the BGF proposal. In an effort to bring the restless ethnic groups into line, the military has been building up its presence in the area. According to KNG they are also recruiting new soldiers, including child soldiers. And, last month, the junta recalled troops that had been deployed in Karen State.
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