Burmese government fails to sign peace pact with Kachin rebels

The Nation, March 12, 2012 - Ruili, China - Burma's government failed to sign a peace agreement with ethnic Kachin rebels over the weekend after three days of fruitless negotiations, officials said Monday.

Similar talks ended in failure in late January.

"The reason we couldn’t sign an agreement was because mutual trust still needs to be built up and has not reached a solid level yet," Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) peace group leader Sumlut Gam said in the Chinese border city of Ruili. "But we hope we will have a peace deal one day."

Burma's army has been carrying out an offensive against the KIO guerrillas since mid-2011 with the fighting in the northern state of Kachin displacing more than 40,000 civilians.//DPA

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