Reuters- Myanmar's continued military offensive against ethnic Kachin rebels in the north has sent tens of thousands fleeing their home and threatens a humanitarian crisis, a campaign group said on Friday.

Recent ceasefire talks between the nominally civilian government that took office in March and at least two ethnic armed groups have had some success, but tension with the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) has increased to "boiling point", Refugees International said.

Fighting in the decades-old conflict flared up in June in pockets of the jungle in the northern state of Kachin controlled by the KIA and its political wing, the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO), after a 17-year ceasefire broke down.

"Refugees International is extremely concerned for the safety of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) that are living in various camps in KIO-controlled areas whose shelters and camps are right in between the Tatmadaw (the army) and the KIO bases," said Lynn Yoshikawa, Refugees International's southeast Asia advocate.

"The conflict in Kachin State requires both immediate humanitarian assistance and long-term assistance," she told a news conference in Bangkok, after a recent visit to Myitkyina, the state capital, and other ethnic areas.

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