KIO, preparing for war, urges people to join militia
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Young people, adults and ex-servicemen were asked to serve in the Kachin People’s Militia during a meeting of the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO) on Monday.
At the KIO’s headquarters in Laiza, more than 1,300 troops attended a morning meeting and at noon, more than 1,400 Kachin, including adult local residents and young people, met.
Lieutenant General Gam Shawng Gunhtang, the chief of staff of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), the armed wing of KIO, told the gathering ‘the KIO will launch offensives against the junta and all Kachin people need to participate in the revolution’, according a KIA officer.
Currently, the KIO has 15 battalions. The people’s militia would not be deployed in combat, but would be organised to provide logistical support to the troops, according to a KIA officer.
The general urged volunteers to serve in the militia for as long as hostilities with the central regime appear to be imminent.
KIA militia groups in Kachin State and northern Shan total about 7,000 people, observers say.
The KIO was formed in 1961 to fight for racial equality and self determination for the Kachin people. It began organising people’s militia groups in 2009.
