On the Front Lines with the Kachin Independence Army
On the Front Lines with the Kachin Independence Army
3 minute read
KIA officers perform a military training at the School of Officers, situated in a secret location in the high mountains some kilometers away from Laiza city, the headquarters of the rebel Kachin Independence Army.Narciso Contreras—Polaris
Burma is changing. On April 1, Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi led the opposition National League for Democracy to victory in by-elections hailed as a landmark for the Southeast Asian nation. The win capped a raft of other shifts since the country’s military rulers ceded power to a quasi-civilian government last year. President U Thein Sein—a former general and one of this year’s TIME 100 honorees—has freed selected political prisoners, loosened the state’s grip on the media and signed peace agreements with ethnic rebels. But there are exceptions to the positive news from the country, notably the ongoing conflict in Kachin State.
As this series of photographs taken by Mexican photojournalist Narciso Contreras illustrates, the remote northern region is still at war. Following the collapse in June 2011 of a 17-year ceasefire between the Burmese army and ethnic Kachin rebels, violence has become an almost daily occurrence. In a recent report, Human Rights Watch claimed that the Burmese military has murdered, tortured and raped civilians. And, although they also accuse the rebel Kachin Independence Army (KIA) of “serious abuses, including using child soldiers and antipersonnel landmines,” most of the crimes outlined in this latest report were allegedly committed by the Burmese military.
The report is based on testimony from more than 100 people living in two camps for internally displaced people in Kachin State and across the border in China’s Yunnan province. It finds that Burmese soldiers have deliberately and indiscriminately attacked civilians, tortured children as young as 14, raped women, pillaged properties and razed homes. By the organization’s estimates, the violence has displaced some 75,000 and forced men as old as 70 into labor on the conflict’s front lines.
There have been some gestures at peace. Burmese President Sein has made repeated calls for the military to cease offensive actions in Kachin and use only defensive measures. His government has held seven rounds of talks with the KIA, most recently in the border town of Ruili. However, those talks ended without agreement last month. The government cannot control the Army, they go their own way,” said Laphai Naw Din, editor of the Thailand-based Kachin News Group.
Meanwhile, the clashes continue. Contreras’ pictures, alongside accounts by other journalists and NGO workers who have recently visited the area, show both sides preparing for a long fight. For the civilians and soldiers on the front lines, change can’t come soon enough.
The photographs in this gallery were taken in February and March of 2012 in Kachin State, Myanmar.A KIA soldier stands guard at the northwest front line of Laiza city, the headquarters of the rebel Kachin Independence Army. Fierce clashes have taken place since a ceasefire was broken by the Burmese army last June.Narciso Contreras—PolarisJan Mai outpost at the top of the mountains, some kilometers away from Maiya Jang city. The outpost is occupied now by KIA soldiers after the Burmese army lost the post during heavy fighting.Narciso Contreras—PolarisKIA officers perform a military training at the School of Officers, situated in a secret location in the high mountains some kilometers away from Laiza city, the headquarters of the rebel Kachin Independence Army. Narciso Contreras—PolarisFemale KIA officers perform a military training exercise at the School of Officers.Narciso Contreras—PolarisFemale KIA soldiers belonging to the 3rd Brigade hold their weapons as they stand guard at the checkpoint near the KIA headquarters in Laiza city. Since the begining of the Kachin uprising, women have fought beside the rebel soldiers, but officially the female KIA was founded in 2007. Since then, up to 1,500 women have joined the rebel army.Narciso Contreras—PolarisA KIA female officer leads military basic training for new recruits at one of the training camps on the outskirts of Laiza city, the headquarters of the Kachin Independence Army.Narciso Contreras—PolarisKIA officers perform a military training at the School of Officers, situated in a secret location in the high mountains some kilometers away from Laiza city, the headquarters of the Kachin Independence Army. Narciso Contreras—PolarisA KIA female cobra soldier shows the word "LOVE" tattooed in English on her left hand as on the outside wall of a KIA female barracks building is written the word "TSAW," which means "LOVE" in the Kachin language.Narciso Contreras—Polaris(From left to right) Cobra soldier Seng Ra (21), cobra soldier Pawk Mai (23) and cobra soldier Hka Ra (22) play with fancy hats at their barracks after they finish their daily duties as trainers of new recruits at the KIA base camp on the outskirts of Maiya Jang city, the second largest city under control of the Kachin Independence Army.Narciso Contreras—PolarisHka Ra, a KIA cobra soldier, sits at her bed as she waits for her comrades after having finished the training program for new recruits at the KIA base camp on the outskirts of Maiya Jang city. The KIA is expanding its troops numbers since a ceasefire was broken by the Burmese army last June.Narciso Contreras—PolarisKIA recruits eat and rest inside the barracks before they are called for a daily training at one of the training camps near Laiza city, the headquarters of the Kachin Independence Army.Narciso Contreras—PolarisA KIA soldier brushes her hair as she prepares for bed at the KIA base camp near Maiya Jang city.Narciso Contreras—PolarisKIA's female barracks at the School of Officers, situated in a secret location in the high mountains some kilometers away from Laiza city, the headquarters of the Kachin Independence Army.Narciso Contreras—PolarisABSDF soldiers belonging to the northern division take a bath in a stream below their base camp located just some kilometers away from the Kachin rebel stronghold of Laiza city, the headquarters of the Kachin Independence Army. Narciso Contreras—PolarisA KIA soldier climbs up to the top of a historical Japanese outpost used in World War II as he watches the enemy's position at the Maiya Jang front line.Narciso Contreras—PolarisA KIA soldier enters into an anti-shelling shelter as he shows the damage caused by the Burmese bombs during months of fighting at the Maiya Jang front line.Narciso Contreras—PolarisA KIA soldier throws himself to the ground as he executes combat training operations at the highest mountains of the Maiya Jang front line. The KIA positions around the city have been attacked by shelling and heavy artillery during recent months.Narciso Contreras—PolarisA KIA soldier stands guard as he monitors by radio the Burmese army position at one of the outposts some kilometers from the Kachin rebel stronghold of Laiza city, the headquarters of the Kachin Independence Army.Narciso Contreras—PolarisA KIA soldier sits at the back of a truck near the Maiya Jang front line in the mountains.Narciso Contreras—PolarisA dead corpse of a Burmese soldier lies unburied by side of a road along the MuBum front line. He died on duty and was abandoned by his comrades during military operations.Narciso Contreras—PolarisDrug users are kept under custody as they attend a rehabilitation program in Laiza city. The program has been implemented by KIO as an attempt to halt the smuggling and using of drugs in the Kachin territory under control of the rebel army.Narciso Contreras—PolarisKali, a KIA soldier, lies on his bed as he recovers from a landmine explosion injury acquired while he was fighting against the Burmese army at the front line of Ntappum mountain. Narciso Contreras—PolarisA 23-year-old Kachin villager lies down on his bed as he recovers from his severe injuries caused by land mine explosions that occurred while he was working in the fields.Narciso Contreras—PolarisA KIA combatant sits in a wheelchair as he recovers after having been injured and losing his leg during heavy clashes with the Burmese army, at the military hospital in Laiza city.Narciso Contreras—PolarisJe Gau Pa IDP camp, located in the high mountains of northeastern Kachin State, is one of the most remote temporary shelters, settled under tough and poor conditions. The camp gives shelter to 2,000 displaced persons from the wartorn villages close to Maiya Jang city. Months of fighting in the Kachin State have left more than 40,000 displaced persons and refugees, according to humanitarian aid groups.Narciso Contreras—PolarisKachin refugees carry firewood to Je Gau Pa IDP camp located in the high mountains of northeastern Kachin State.Narciso Contreras—PolarisA Kachin refugee child plays on a hill among tents settled to give shelter to the displaced persons in one of the largest IDP camps close to the Laiza KIA stronghold city. Five thousand IDPs have been settled in this camp since a ceasefire was broken by the Burmese army last June.Narciso Contreras—PolarisA Kachin child refugee walks among tents settled to give shelter to the displaced persons in one of the largest IDP camps, close to the Laiza KIA stronghold city. Narciso Contreras—PolarisKachin children in the early morning at the Je Gau Pa IDP camp, located in the high mountains of northeastern Kachin State.Narciso Contreras—PolarisKachin refugee women walk with their recently born babies at the Je Gau Pa IDP camp, located at the high mountains of northeastern Kachin State.Narciso Contreras—PolarisKachin displaced children at Seng Mai Pa IDP camp, one of the camps settled outskirsts of Maiya Jang city. The camp gives shelter to 2,000 displaced persons from the wartorn villages in Kachin State. Narciso Contreras—PolarisAn elderly man lies down as he suffers mental stress at Je Gau Pa IDP camp, located in the high mountains of northeastern Kachin State, one of the most remote temporary shelters.Narciso Contreras—PolarisA Kachin refugee man eats a rice ration given by the WaPaNa NGO behind the tents at Seng Mai Pa IDP camp, one of multiple camps settled on the outskirsts of Maiya Jang city.Narciso Contreras—Polaris
