Myanmar army takes rebel outpost

This article is more than 12 months old

Dec 19, 2016 06:00 am

YANGON, MYANMAR Myanmar soldiers have seized an important outpost from a powerful rebel faction in the early hours of Saturday morning, state media and insurgents confirmed yesterday - a fresh blow for the country's struggling peace process.

The latest fighting erupted between Myanmar's military and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), one of the country's strongest rebel groups based in northern Kachin state. Myanmar's military captured Gidon Outpost on Saturday morning, reported the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper. Both sides suffered losses, but figures were not disclosed.

The skirmish is significant because it is taking place close to the KIA's well fortified headquarters in Laiza and delivers a new blow to the peace process.

In Shan, which lies to the south of Kachin, renewed fighting has broken out in recent weeks between an alliance of rebel factions, sending refugees streaming over the Chinese border and causing tensions with Beijing. - AFP