Photos: Myanmar Kachin ethnic rebels lose key outpost

A Kachin Independence Army (KIA) soldier leans on his rifle while he rests outside an abandoned Christian church at an outpost a mile away from a hill top ceased by Myanmar's government troops, five miles away from the town of Laiza, in northern Myanmar's Kachin controlled region, Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013. A key outpost protecting the headquarters of ethnic Kachin rebels in northern Myanmar has fallen to government troops, a spokesman for the guerrilla group said Sunday. The Kachin Independence Army spokesman said the hillside outpost at Hka Ya Bhum, near the guerrilla group's headquarters in the town of Laiza, was overrun Saturday afternoon. (AP Photo/Alexander F. Yuan)

Kachin Independence Army (KIA) soldiers rest near a fire pit at an outpost a mile away from a hill top ceased by Myanmar's government troops, five miles away from the town of Laiza, in northern Myanmar's Kachin controlled region, Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013. A key outpost protecting the headquarters of ethnic Kachin rebels in northern Myanmar has fallen to government troops, a spokesman for the guerrilla group said Sunday. The Kachin Independence Army spokesman said the hillside outpost at Hka Ya Bhum, near the guerrilla group's headquarters in the town of Laiza, was overrun Saturday afternoon.(AP Photo/Alexander F. Yuan)

A Kachin Independence Army (KIA) soldier wearing a cross stands watching after taking a bath at an outpost, a mile away from a hill top ceased by Myanmar's government troops, five miles away from the town of Laiza, in northern Myanmar's Kachin-controled region, Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013. (AP Photo/Alexander F. Yuan)

A Kachin Independence Army (KIA) soldier uses his mobile phone while another watches as they stand near a gas mask, bottom left, in their newly-dug trench at an outpost a mile away from a hill top ceased by Myanmar's government troops, five miles away from the town of Laiza, in Northern Myanmar's Kachin-controlled region, Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013. A key outpost protecting the headquarters of ethnic Kachin rebels in northern Myanmar has fallen to government troops, a spokesman for the guerrilla group said Sunday. The Kachin Independence Army spokesman said the hillside outpost at Hka Ya Bhum, near the guerrilla group's headquarters in the town of Laiza, was overrun Saturday afternoon. (AP Photo/Alexander F. Yuan)

A woman carries a child on her back at an Internally Displaced Persons refuge camp set up at a land of Woichyai Baptist Church in the town of Laiza, in northern Myanmar's Kachin-controled region, Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013. (AP Photo/Alexander F. Yuan)

Kachin Independence Army (KIA) soldiers change their clothes after bathing at an outpost a mile away from a hill top ceased by Myanmar's government troops, five miles away from the town of Laiza, in northern Myanmar's Kachin controlled region, Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013. A key outpost protecting the headquarters of ethnic Kachin rebels in northern Myanmar has fallen to government troops, a spokesman for the guerrilla group said Sunday. The Kachin Independence Army spokesman said the hillside outpost at Hka Ya Bhum, near the guerrilla group's headquarters in the town of Laiza, was overrun Saturday afternoon. (AP Photo/Alexander F. Yuan)

A man rests with a rifle at a roadside checking post near Ma Ja Yang in Kachin state, Myanmar, Monday, Jan. 28, 2013. (AP Photo/Alexander F. Yuan)

Children eat dates after dipping them in a small plate with salt at an Internally Displaced Persons refuge camp set up at a land of Woichyai Baptist Church in the town of Laiza, in northern Myanmar's Kachin-controled region, Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013. (AP Photo/Alexander F. Yuan)

A girl puts a plastic bag on her head while she plays at an Internally Displaced Persons refuge camp set up at a land of Woichyai Baptist Church in the town of Laiza, in northern Myanmar's Kachin-controled region, Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013. (AP Photo/Alexander F. Yuan)

Catholic believers hold candles while they march and chant prayers for peace in the town of Laiza, in northern Myanmar's Kachin-controlled region, Monday, Jan. 28, 2013. A key outpost protecting the headquarters of ethnic Kachin rebels in northern Myanmar has fallen to government troops, a spokesman for the guerrilla group said Sunday. The Kachin Independence Army spokesman said the hillside outpost at Hka Ya Bhum, near the guerrilla group's headquarters in the town of Laiza, was overrun Saturday afternoon. (AP Photo/Alexander F. Yuan)