Kachin

La Rip, who founded a refugee association to help people displaced by the conflict, said Burmese troops have emptied villages by threatening violence against locals if they are attacked by the ethnic militia known as the Kachin Independence Army.

Ethnic Militia Challenges Burma's Army, New Government 2011

What is specifically known as the Kachin hills, the country taken under administration in the Bhamo and Myitkyina districts, is divided into forty tracts.

Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 4 "Bulgaria" to "Calgary" Various

Skirmishes between Myanmar forces and ethnic Kachin soldiers have continued in recent days after breaking out near China earlier this month, according to dissidents familiar with the clashes, though the scale of the fighting remains unclear, since it is occurring in areas that are largely off-limits to foreign observers.

Myanmar Warns Suu Kyi to Limit Political Activities 2011

The dam project had become a flashpoint for the renewal of armed conflict between the Burmese army and ethnic Kachin rebels that has so far displaced more than 30,000 civilians.

David Scott Mathieson: The Myitsone Dam Decision in Burma David Scott Mathieson 2011

Burma's central government has refused to grant autonomy to ethnic minorities, including the Karen, Shan and Kachin people.

Burma Marks 63rd Independence Anniversary Amid Calls for Freedom 2011

The breakdown of the 17-year ceasefire with the Kachin Independence Organization in June was another headache for the government.

David Scott Mathieson: The Myitsone Dam Decision in Burma David Scott Mathieson 2011

Aid workers in Burma have said the situation is deteriorating, with more than 50,000 Kachin people forced from their homes over the last six months.

Burma prisoner release begins 2012

The Myitsone hydro-electric dam, the largest of seven dams to be constructed by the Beijing-controlled China Power Investment Corporation, would have flooded an area of more than 700 square kilometers, and displaced tens of thousands of villagers in northern Kachin State, close to the state capital of Myitkina.

David Scott Mathieson: The Myitsone Dam Decision in Burma David Scott Mathieson 2011

An agreement with groups representing the Kachin ethnic minority in the north-east broke down last summer.

Burma prisoner release begins 2012

Kachin environmental groups and community leaders in the dam areas and others have done exemplary work in documenting the project and its effects on Kachin State, which has encouraged more overt community activism in recent years.

David Scott Mathieson: The Myitsone Dam Decision in Burma David Scott Mathieson 2011