audio, stills, text and or video: Go to zReportage.com to see more - Despite progress in its move to democracy, Myanmar has so far been unable to end all the ethnic insurgencies that have long divided the country. The Kachin conflict is one of multiple conflicts collectively referred to as the Burmese Civil War. Since 2011, fighting has reignited between the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the Burmese Army after a longstanding ceasefire was broken. The Kachin Movement was founded during the British colonial occupation of Burma in the 1940s. The recent conflict has resulted in the deaths of thousands of people, the displacement of over 100,000 civilians. The KIA, which fights for Kachin autonomy within Myanmar, is estimated to have around 8,000 troops spread throughout the Kachin State. The military training center in Laiza is the main instructional institution for the KIA and recruits from all over Kachin State travel here to train in jungle warfare before being assigned to one of five brigades. With the recent visit of the U.S Secretary of state John Kerry to the country, and critical meeting's between Myanmar's government and the country's armed ethnic groups, there is some optimism that a long-awaited nationwide cease-fire agreement could become a reality. Myanmar embarked on democratic reforms in 2011 and opened its doors to the outside world for the first time in half a century.
© Taylor Weidman/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
July 7, 2014 - Laiza, Kachin, Myanmar - KIA recruits take part in field exercises at a training camp. The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) is the military wing of the KIO and fights for Kachin autonomy within Myanmar. Since 2011, fighting has reignited between the KIA and Burmese army after a longstanding ceasefire was broken.
© Taylor Weidman/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
July 7, 2014 - Laiza, Kachin, Myanmar - The barracks of new KIA recruits at a training camp.
© Taylor Weidman/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
July 7, 2014 - Laiza, Kachin, Myanmar - After a commander finds the barracks' cleanliness unsatisfactory, recruits are ordered to support themselves on their knuckles as punishment at a training camp.
© Taylor Weidman/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
July 7, 2014 - Laiza, Kachin, Myanmar - KIA recruits jog toward a barracks inspection after field exercises finish at a training camp.
© Taylor Weidman/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
July 7, 2014 - Laiza, Kachin, Myanmar - A KIA recruit practices driving heavy trucks at a training camp.
© Taylor Weidman/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
July 7, 2014 - Laiza, Kachin, Myanmar - KIA recruits practice driving heavy trucks at a training camp.
© Taylor Weidman/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
July 7, 2014 - Laiza, Kachin, Myanmar - The KIA symbol is painted on an army truck at a training camp.
© Taylor Weidman/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
July 8, 2014 - Laiza, Kachin, Myanmar - KIA recruits take part in field exercises at a training camp.
© Taylor Weidman/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
July 8, 2014 - Laiza, Kachin, Myanmar - KIA recruits wait at attention as cleaning assignments are given out at a training camp.
© Taylor Weidman/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
July 8, 2014 - Laiza, Kachin, Myanmar - KIA recruits relax outside of their barracks at a training camp.
© Taylor Weidman/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
July 8, 2014 - Laiza, Kachin, Myanmar - A KIA recruit practices driving heavy trucks at a training camp.
© Taylor Weidman/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
July 8, 2014 - Laiza, Kachin, Myanmar - A KIA recruit practices driving heavy trucks at a training camp.
© Taylor Weidman/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
July 8, 2014 - Laiza, Kachin, Myanmar - KIA recruits eat dinner after doing field exercises at a training camp.
© Taylor Weidman/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
July 8, 2014 - Laiza, Kachin, Myanmar - A KIA recruit makes a table at a training camp.
© Taylor Weidman/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
July 8, 2014 - Laiza, Kachin, Myanmar - A KIA recruit at a training camp.
© Taylor Weidman/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
