Myanmar ‘reaches truce’ with Kachin rebels

Naypyidaw. Myanmar has reached a preliminary ceasefire with Kachin rebels, a negotiator said, raising hopes of an end to two years of fighting.Min Zaw Oo, the director of the Myanmar Peace Centre, told the AFP news agency that Kachin and government representatives had signed a seven-point plan, including an agreement to halt hostilities.“The agreement is to stop fighting at this point and afterwards there are going to be detailed discussions about the repositioning of troops,” he said on Thursday.The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and President Thein Sein’s government held three days of talks in Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin. Previous rounds of negotiations had been held across the border in China.Tens of thousands of people have been displaced in Kachin since June 2011, when a 17-year ceasefire between the government and the rebels broke down.Fighting in Kachin and sectarian unrest elsewhere in the country have overshadowed widely political changes as Myanmar emerges from decades of military rule.The military’s use of air strikes against the KIA in December caused an international outcry.While the rebels reacted cautiously to subsequent government pledges to end the military offensive, fighting has eased in recent months.The Kachin, who want greater autonomy, say any negotiations should address their demands for more political rights.