Villagers displaced by conflict in Kachin State’s Hpakant Township have been ordered by the Burmese military to evacuate their makeshift camps and find lodgings with friends or relatives.

Although the Burmese military doesn't want camps established for those recently displaced by clashes between government troops and the Kachin Independence Army, a cabinet official for the government has insisted that camps should be set up if necessary.

"Unless both sides stop fighting and allow these people to go home, [the Kachin IDPs] are facing a dire situation.”

Clashes between government troops and the Kachin Independence Army around a village in Kachin State have sent more than 800 people fleeing in the latest bout of fighting to affect the region.

The continuing hostilities, which began on 19 January in Sumprabum township, Putao District, in northernmost Kachin State, have included numerous rounds of mortar fire and artillery.

Government forces have reportedly launched assaults on its positions across Kachin State, including artillery shelling near the Kachin headquarters of Laiza.