President Thein Sein issued a ceasefire order to troops in the La Ja Yang area of Kachin near the border with China but the army did not respect the order and continues to shell the rebels according to the rebels spokesman.
It was due to take effect on Saturday morning, but Colonel James Lum Dau, a Thai-based spokesman for the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), told Reuters the army had continued to attack over the weekend, both in La Ja Yang and elsewhere in the state.
An offensive in La Ja Yang from about 8 a.m. on Sunday morning had involved artillery and infantry, he said.
A 17-year ceasefire with the KIA broke down in June 2011 and fighting has been particularly intense in recent weeks.
Twenty months of fighting has displaced tens of thousands of people and, for some analysts, raised doubts about the sincerity of all the political and economic reforms pursued by Thein Sein in Myanmar, also known as Burma.
Addressing a development forum attended by donor countries and international aid organizations on Saturday, Thein Sein had invited the Kachin rebels to a 'political dialogue' with rebels from other states.
Ten other major rebel groups from various states have already agreed to a ceasefire.
A local source in Kachin, who did not want to be identified, confirmed the army attacks on Sunday, including one on a rebel position about five miles (eight km) from the KIA stronghold of Laiza.
Fighter jets had flown over the area but had not attacked, the source said.
New York-based Human Rights Watch last week accused the army of indiscriminately shelling the town of Laiza.
Loud explosions were also heard by residents of the town of Mai Ja Yang who felt the vibrations, the source said. The conflict with the rebels remains a central agony in the 'new Burma'.
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