The Burmese army has launched an attack on a strategic hilltop held by rebel Kachin forces in the north of the country, breaking a ceasefire announced by the government.
Burmese troops shelled a Kachin base just a few kilometres from their headquarters in Laiza, on the Chinese border.
It was hit by sustained mortar and artillery fire, and hundreds of Burmese troops could be seen crawling through the trees up the slopes, says the BBC's Jonathan Head, who is in the area.
He says if the base falls, there are few defences left to prevent the fall of Laiza, should the Burmese military decide to take it.
