Myanmar rebels say army ignoring president's ceasefire
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Buy SPH photosYANGON (REUTERS) - Myanmar troops attacked rebel positions in northeast Kachin on Sunday despite a ceasefire order from the president and an invitation to the rebels to take part in peace talks, a rebel spokesman and a local source said.
President Thein Sein issued the ceasefire order to troops in the La Ja Yang area of Kachin near the border with China, where fighting has been fiercest.
It was due to take effect on Saturday morning, but Colonel James Lum Dau, a Thai-based spokesman for the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), told Reuters the army had continued to attack over the weekend, both in La Ja Yang and elsewhere in the state.
An offensive in La Ja Yang from about 8 a.m. on Sunday morning (0130 GMT) had involved artillery and infantry, he said.
