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The Burmese government reaches deal with Kachin rebels | |
(about 11 hours later) | |
Burma's government and ethnic Kachin rebels have reached a deal that could pave the way for an end to their conflict. | |
China mediated talks in the southern Chinese town of Ruili amid ongoing fighting between the army and rebels. | |
The two sides agreed to defuse military tensions, open lines of communication, and hold another meeting before the end of February. | |
The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) has fought the Burmese state for 50 years. | |
The two sides also agreed to hold a political dialogue and to establish a "monitoring system" that would allow them to implement a ceasefire, the Associated Press news agency reports. | |
The agreement stops short of declaring a ceasefire, and was about trying to build trust ahead of more substantive talks, says the BBC's Jonah Fisher in Bangkok. | |
The significance of this meeting will depend on what now happens on the ground, our correspondent adds. | |
If the level of fighting does fall, then this just might be the beginning of the end of Burma's most active ethnic conflict, he says. | |
Civilians displaced | |
In recent weeks Burmese troops have captured several key rebel positions around the town of Laiza, the KIA headquarters, in northern Burma. | |
The two sides reached a ceasefire last month, but it broke down immediately. | |
Tens of thousands of civilians have been displaced by the fighting, which reignited in June 2011 after a 17-year truce failed. | Tens of thousands of civilians have been displaced by the fighting, which reignited in June 2011 after a 17-year truce failed. |
Several rounds of talks have already been held without agreement. | |
The rebels want a political deal in place before agreeing to a ceasefire. | |
In recent years the Burmese government has reached peace deals with all the major ethnic rebel groups except the KIA. | |
The conflict presents a challenge to the administration of President Thein Sein, which has been praised for reforms enacted since the transfer from military to civilian rule following elections in November 2010. |