Burma ceasefire 'holds' in rebel-held Kachin areas

A ceasefire announced by the Burmese military fighting rebels in northern Kachin state appears to be holding.

Rebels have told the BBC there was some sporadic shelling, and reports of fighting, in the hours after the truce, which has since died down.

But rebel soldiers on the frontline remain wary and nervous, the BBC's Jonathan Head reports from Kachin.

The military said on Friday it would end offensive attacks "except in self defence" from 06:00 on Saturday.

A spokesman for the rebels told the BBC Burmese service that there was shelling at Lajaryan, some six miles (10km) south of their stronghold Laiza, between 09:00 and 13:00 on Saturday but it has been quiet since.

Fighting has also been reported in the areas of Pha Kant and Moe Mate, he said without giving further details.

The BBC's Jonathan Head, in Kachin, says none of the rebels are prepared to believe that the army they have been fighting for the last 18 months is ready for peace.

The occasional thud of mortar or reports of a Burmese helicopter gunship sent them scurrying into their bunkers throughout Saturday, he said.

The ceasefire announcement came hours after the fledgling parliament passed a motion calling for peace talks to end the fighting which followed the collapse of a 17-year truce in mid-2011.

Tens of thousands of people have been displaced since the conflict reignited.

Violence has escalated in recent weeks, since the military began a new offensive on rebel fighters they accused of trying to block supply routes.

The Kachin Independence Organisation - which is seeking greater autonomy within Burma - is the only major rebel group not to have agreed a ceasefire with the government.

It has told our correspondent that it wants the Burmese military to scale back its operations throughout Kachin state and not just around Laiza.

Burma's new military-backed civilian government - which has embarked on a series of reforms since elections in November 2010 - has pledged to resolve conflicts in border areas with ethnic minority groups.

But the escalation of fighting in Kachin in recent weeks has not only brought international condemnation, but also raised questions about the extent of civilian government control over the armed forces, who ruled Burma for decades.