Myanmar calls for ceasefire with Kachin rebels

Yangon - The Myanmar government on Thursday called for an immediate ceasefire between its troops and rebels from the Kachin ethnic group whose headquarters have been under air assault since last week.

"Both sides should meet face to face and stop fighting," said Major Zaw Htay, director of the President’s Office in the capital, Naypyitaw.

Htay said the government had contacted the Kachin Independence Organization and its armed force, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), to discuss a ceasefire but the insurgents had "not replied yet." //DPA