CHIANG MAI - About 100 Kachin exiles rallied at the Chinese and US consulates in Chiang Mai city on Friday, urging them to put pressure on Myanmar to end the fighting in the northern states of Kachin and Shan.

They gathered at the Chinese consulate to submit a letter condemning the Myanmar government's use of violence against rebels in Kachin state and part of Shan state, and demanded that Beijing put pressure on the  Naypyitaw government to negotiate with the Kachin Independence Army and give political asylum to Kachin immigrants fleeing the war.

Kachin exiles shout slogans against the Myanmar military attack on minority rebels during a protest outside the US consulate in Chiang Mai province on Friday. (EPA Photo)

They then moved to the US consulate, where they called on Washington to provide humanitarian aid to the Kachin people and impose economic sanctions against Myanmar.

The protesters called on the United Nations High Commissioner  for Refugees to set up an office in Southeast Asia especially to assist Kachin refugees and to also put their case before the UN Assembly.

The Myanmar army has been waging an offensive against the rebels since June 2011. About 100,000 civilians have been displaced in Kachin state, where the rebels have been striving for semi-autonomy for the past six decades.

Related search: Kachin, Chiang Mai, Myanmar