YANGON, Myanmar — Ethnic Kachin rebels in Myanmar said clashes in the country's north continued Saturday despite a government promise to cease fire, casting doubt over hopes that the bloody conflict there could end soon. Myanmar's military had declared Friday it would stop attacks against rebels around the town of Lajayang, near Myanmar's northeastern border with China, starting Saturday morning because it had achieved its goal of securing an army outpost there that had been surrounded by insurgents. An official with the Kachin Independence Army confirmed Lajayang was quiet, but he said fighting was taking place in at least three other rebel positions in the region on Saturday. The official declined to be identified because he is not a spokesman for the rebel group. The two sides have been fighting for 1 1/2 years, but the latest combat has represented a major escalation because the government began using fighter planes and helicopter gunships in its attacks starting on Christmas Day. Many of the skirmishes have centered on Lajayang, which is about 10 kilometers (6 miles) from Laiza, a town that also serves as a political headquarters for the guerrillas. The upsurge in violence has drawn calls from the international community for the two sides to put down their arms and negotiate, but there was no public indication of any direct talks taking place. The recent fighting flared after the Kachin rejected a government demand that they stop attacking convoys delivering supplies to the army base at Lajayang. The guerrillas contended that the convoys carried ammunition that could be used to attack their own nearby headquarters. The government then launched its offensive to clear the road to its base. Friday's announcement that the army was ceasing offensives said that since December, 35 soldiers were killed and 190 wounded in Kachin state. The total number of Kachin casualties is not known, though the group's supporters said it included civilians. The government also said that since the war reignited in 2011, there have been 1,095 skirmishes with the guerrillas, who it also blamed for blasting 133 roads and bridges with explosives and laying land mines that wounded civilians at least 30 times. –AP
