Often called the "forgotten war", the Kachin conflict is a messy struggle over autonomy, ethnic identity, drugs, jade and other natural resources between the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the Myanmar state. Ethnic Kachin are mainly Christians in a nation that is overwhelmingly Buddhist. An army unit accused of atrocities against the Rohingya -- the 33rd Light Infantry Division -- has now been redeployed to Kachin. The Kachin conflict reignited in 2011 after a 17-year ceasefire collapsed. Peace protest crackdownThe Kachin conflict is a powerful rallying cry in a country whose citizens suffered under decades of junta repression.

Source: Bangkok Post May 18, 2018 06:45 UTC