The Myanmar Government on May 30 reached a preliminary ceasefire deal with the Kachin Independent Organisation (Kachin, KIO) - the political branch of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) - after almost two years of violence.

According to Min Zaw Oo, director of the EU-funded Myanmar Peace Centre, who took part in the negotiations in the Kachin State capital Myitkyina, Myanmar Government and KIO representatives signed a seven-point plan, including a vow to end hostilities.

The two sides would stop fighting and discuss in details the repositioning of troops, he said.

The three-day talks are the first meeting between the two sides held inside Myanmar. Previous rounds of negotiations were held in Thailand and China.

The peace talks were conducted after the Myanmar Government unilaterally ended fighting in January to seek a solution to the clashes in Kachin which have displaced nearly 100,000 people since June, 2011.

UN Secretary General’s special adviser on Myanmar, Vijay Nambiar, also joined the talks, along with representatives of Chinese and other ethnic minorities.

Meanwhile, some 25 suspects have been arrested in Lashio town in the country’s northern Shan state since a riot was sparked in the town on May 28, causing the death of at least one person, an official source has said.

A curfew was imposed on the evening of May 28 to restore order in the locality.-VNA