New Democratic Army – Kachin | |
---|---|
ကချင်ဒီမိုကရေစီသစ် တပ်မတော် | |
Leaders | Zahkung Ting Ying (a.k.a. S'Khon Tein Yein) Layawk Zelum Ying Zelum |
Dates of operation | 1989 – 2009 (As NDA-K) 2009 – present (As BGF) |
Headquarters | Pangwa, Kachin State |
Active regions |
Kachin State,
Myanmar Myanmar- China border |
Ideology |
Kachin nationalism Communism [1] |
Size | 200–300; 700 (peak) [1] |
Allies | ![]() |
Opponents | State opponents
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Battles and wars | Internal conflict in Myanmar |
The New Democratic Army – Kachin ( Burmese: ကချင်ဒီမိုကရေစီသစ် တပ်မတော်; abbreviated NDA-K), officially known as the Kachin Border Guard Force, is an armed insurgent group that operates in Kachin State, Myanmar. After signing a ceasefire agreement with the military of Myanmar in 1989, it was subsequently converted into a pro-Tatmadaw militia, eventually officially being converted into a Border Guard Force in November 2009. [1] [3] [4]
The NDA-K was founded in 1989 by former Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) officers Zahkung Ting Ying (a.k.a. S'Khon Tein Yein), Layawk Zelum, and Ying Zelum, when they led a communist faction of 700 soldiers that split from the KIO due to its political differences. [1] [2] In the same year, the group agreed to a ceasefire with the government, and it de facto operated under the Tatmadaw's command as a "special regional task force". [1]
The group received a budget, rations, and supplies from the government. Additionally, 600 soldiers were paid by the government as part of the Myanmar Police Force. [1] In November 2009, the group became one of the first insurgent groups under a ceasefire agreement to convert into a "border guard force". Some members have since joined the Kachin State Progressive Party (KSPP) to contest in the 2010 general election. [3]
A Rawang leader Lauban Tanggu Dang (Ah Dang; Burmese: တန်ဂူးတန်) established the Rebellion Resistance Force from the NDA-K group. [5]
Zahkung Ting Ying is a Ngochang from the Yunnan Frontier.[ citation needed] In 1968, he split from Kachin Independence Army and joined the Communist Party of Burma and established the CPB's 101 War Zone with Zaluman, another KIA defector. [6] [7] In 2016, he was expelled from the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw for violating election laws while campaigning. [8]
Illegal rare earth mining has surged in NDA-K held areas bordering China following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état. [9] [10] In April 2021, 100 rare earth mines were found in the area controlled by the militia. [11] As the Chinese government cracked down on domestic rare earth mining, it has outsourced the destructive mining to Kachin State. [12] As of March 2022 [update], 2,700 mining collection pools scattered across 300 separate locations were found in Kachin State, encompassing the area of Singapore, and an exponential increase from 2016. [12] Zakhung Ting Ying and other militia leaders have profited from this extractive industry. [12] In December 2021, US$200 million in rare earths were exported to China. [12]