(Mizzima) – A series of Kachin Independence Army (KIA) bombings derailed nine railroad sleeper carriages and damaged railroad tracks over the past two days, state-run media reported on Wednesday.
The Monday explosion occurred at a location 2.4 kilometers from Hsahmaw Railway Station on Monday, said the New Light of Myanmar.
The incident follows an attack on the same railroad on Sunday, in which several sleeping carriages of an express train were derailed by a mine blast at a location between Nantsiaung and Mawhan railway station near Moenyin Township, injuring two people including a monk.
The attacks come at a time when U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is calling for a truce between the two sides following renewed fighting which erupted in June 2011, displacing tens of thousands of refugees in the war zone.
In an escalation of fighting the past week, four civil servants including a sub-township administrator were killed and three others are missing after four men attacked and seized the Sadon sub-township administration office in Waingmaw Township in Kachin State. The KIA told Mizzima on Wednesday that it was not involved in the attack on the government office.
Also, the state-run newspaper said a KIA brigade has seized a number of vehicles owned by a private company operating in Chipwe Township, opened fire on border guard forces in Lupi, and damaged a a bridge in the township.
Although three rounds of peace talks have been held in the border town of Ruili, China, the fighting has increased dramatically in recent weeks, including re-enforcements by government troops. The KIO said it believes the government is preparing an assault on its positions.
