Kachin Independence Army The Kachin Independence Army ( ; abbreviated KIA ) is the military arm of the Kachin Independence Organization ( KIO ) , a political group composed of ethnic Kachins in northern Burma ( Myanmar ) . The Kachins are a coalition of six tribes whose homeland encompasses territory in Yunnan , China and Northeast India , in addition to Kachin State in Burma . In May 2012 , the Associated Press reported that the rebel group had 8 , 000 troops . The KIA formed in 1961 February 5 in response to a military coup in Burma led by General Ne Win , who attempted to consolidate Burmese control over regions on the periphery of the state which were home to various ethnic groups . 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 1994 ceasefire agreement between the KIA and the Burmese junta froze the conflict in place . The KIA has not disarmed or surrendered , and continues to recruit , train and mobilize soldiers . Prior to the ceasefire the KIA was predominantly a low - tech guerilla force , but peace has provided the breathing room to establish a military academy and design rigorous officer training programs . The KIA is fully funded by the KIO , which raises revenue through taxes ( in their area ) and trading the resources such as jade , timber and gold . Although well equipped for jungle warfare , the KIA does not have much modern weaponry . Their rifles are a motley collection of AK - 47s , their own made rifles such as KA - 07 , and commanders claim to have some artillery . KIA headquarters is located outside the town of Laiza , in southern Kachin state near the Chinese border . Former headquarters , located at Pajau , are a 2 - 3 hour drive from Laiza , high in the mountains along the border . Although the ceasefire between the government and the KIA has endured since 1994 , in 2009 many Kachins expected a renewed outbreak of war in conjunction with elections scheduled for 2010 . The Military junta that runs Burma demanded that all ethnic armies disarm before the 2010 general elections because the new constitution requires only one army in Burma . According to Gen . Gam Shawng Gunhtang , the chief of staff of the KIA , the demands to disarm were " not acceptable " because he regards that disarming KIA does not guarantee peace between the Military junta and KIA . In February 2010 Alastair Leithead reported for the BBC that KIA ' s Chief of Staff , Maj Gen Gam Shawng said " I can ' t say if there will be war for sure , but the government wants us to become a border guard force for them by the end of the month " , and " We will not do that , or disarm , until they have given us a place in a federal union and ethnic rights as was agreed in Panglong Agreement in 1947 " . In October 2010 KIA commanders informed the BBC that they have " 10 , 000 regular troops and 10 , 000 reservists " , but the BBC had no way to confirm this , and in 2009 Thomas Fuller of the New York Times estimated their numbers at about 4 , 000 active soldiers . The soldiers are divided into five brigades , plus one mobile brigade . Most are stationed in bases close to the Chinese border , in strips of territory held by the KIO . One brigade is stationed in northern Shan state , where there is a large Kachin population . New outbreak of violence in 2011 - 2012 . In 2011 , general Sumlut Gun Maw confirmed renewed fighting in the state of Kachin for independence . One of the new reasons for the ending of the ceasefire is the creation of the Myitsone Dam which requires the submergence of dozens of villages in Kachin state . The 2011 – 2012 Kachin Conflict in 2011 had displaced between 35 , 000 and 75 , 000 people and killed hundreds . Factions . New Democratic Army - Kachin ( NDAK ) is a defected part of KIA led by Zahkung Ting Ying which affiliated with Burma Communist Party in 1968 before it was created as NDAK formally in Dec 1989 .