BANGKOK (AFP) - A global campaign group expressed grave concern on Friday for tens of thousands of displaced people in northern Myanmar, where conflict is intensifying between the government's army and ethnic rebels.

Despite growing optimism over the pace of political reform in the military-dominated country, Refugees International called on the world community to address the escalating crisis in Kachin State, bordering China.

'Tensions... are at boiling point with the potential for a serious humanitarian crisis with long-term implications,' Lynn Yoshikawa, South-east Asia Advocate of Refugees International, told reporters in Bangkok.

She said her group was 'extremely concerned' for at least 30,000 displaced people estimated to be living in camps in rebel-controlled areas, which international aid agencies are unable to access.

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