An alliance of ethnic armed organizations agreed on Thursday to meet with Myanmar government peace negotiators in war-torn Shan state on Saturday to discuss a possible end to recent clashes with national troops, following an assurance from neighboring China that the rebels will be safe during the talks, those with knowledge of the matter said. The four groups that comprise the Northern Alliance — the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), and the Arakan Army (AA), will hold discussions with members of the Myanmar Peace Commission (MPC) in the eastern Shan town of Kengtung, sources said. The TNLA, MNDAA, and AA have been engaged in fierce clashes with Myanmar forces since Aug. 15 when they launched coordinated attacks on five locations in northern Shan state and Mandalay region, killing 15 Myanmar soldiers, policemen, and civilians. The KIA was not involved in the attacks. The three ethnic armies said they conducted the armed assaults in retaliation for offensives by Myanmar soldiers against them in areas under their control. The attacks sparked fresh fighting in Shan’s Kutkai, Muse, Lashio, and Kyaukme townships, forcing thousands of villagers to flee their homes and breaching a temporary cease-fire that the Myanmar military declared in five of its military command regions, including Shan state. Source: https://reliefweb.int/report/myanmar/northern-alliance-agrees-meeting-myanmar-government-negotiators