Burma / Myanmar: Soldiers training at the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) 4th Brigade Headquarters, northern Shan State (1986)

The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) is the military arm of the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), a political group composed of ethnic Kachins in northern Burma (Myanmar). In May 2012, the Associated Press reported that the rebel group had 8,000 troops.

From 1961 until 1994, the KIA fought a grueling and inconclusive war against the Burmese junta. Originally the KIA fought for independence, but now the official KIO policy goal is for autonomy within a federal union of Burma.

The Kachin are an ethnic minority group that is indigenous to Burma. The northernmost region of Myanmar is Kachin State where about 3 million Kachin people live. They are mostly Christian these days, and are renowned for their traditional herbal medicines.

Copyright:

Supplier: CPA Media Co. Ltd.

Photographer:

Hseng Noung Lintner

Credit:

Pictures From History