UN Concerned About Heavy Fighting in Burma’s Kachin State

Refugees from Burma stand beside a river near the China-Burma border in Wanding, in China's southwest Yunnan province on Nov. 30, 2016. Thousands of refugees have fled into China in November due to fighting in northern Burma, and are being housed in temporary shelters along the border. Locals near the Chinese border in Burma's northern state of Shan said they were fleeing heavy fighting between the army and four armed ethnic groups, including the powerful Kachin Independence Army. STR/AFP/Getty Images

GENEVA–Conflict between Burma’s army, the Tatmadaw, and guerrillas of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in northern Burma, also known as Myanmar, has escalated since Jan. 19, including in Sumprabum, Waingmaw and Tanai townships, a U.N. humanitarian report said on Friday.

“The United Nations and its humanitarian partners are concerned about the safety of civilians in these areas,” it said.