LAIZA, Myanmar: Kachin rebels in Myanmar said three civilians were killed and six wounded yesterday in the first government attack on their stronghold, as fighting escalated in the country’s last active civil war. Three shells landed in the centre of Laiza, a town on the northern border with China that serves as headquarters for the Kachin Independence Army, said Colonel James Lum Dau, spokesman for the KIA’s political wing. “This is the first time they have directly bombarded Laiza,” he said. The KIA said the victims of the early morning strike included a 15-year-old boy and a 76-year-old man. People were going about their daily chores when the attack happened, causing panic, he said, adding that two small children were among the wounded. AFP
