Burma
The military situation remains tense in two places in eastern Kachin State that saw more than a week of frequent clashes between junta forces and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) up until Tuesday, according to local residents and the ethnic armed organization.
Junta forces have launched operations in areas where the KIA has stationed its units in Sadon town and Nam San Yang Village in Waingmaw Township.
The junta military’s Light Infantry Battalion 384 and a militia group led by Shwe Min, the chair of the Lisu National Development Party, launched a joint operation along the stretch of road between Sadon and Kanpaiti, a border town with China, on June 26.
In what the military has referred to as a “territory clearance operation”, about 300 troops have approached the area controlled by the KIA’s Battalion 3.
“Clashes broke out almost every day in the week through July 4, and though the KIA, the armed wing of the Kachin Independence Organization [KIO], defended strongly at first, the junta used air strikes to support its troops on the ground, and the KIA troops had to abandon an outpost,” said a political activist who lives in Waingmaw.
KIA spokesperson Colonel Naw Bu confirmed that the organization’s troops had to retreat from a tactical hill on the front line on Wednesday.
“The fighting on the Sadon-Kanpaiti road eased from Wednesday, as we have ordered our troops to move back from the tactical hill. However, another fight will break out again soon,” he said.
Residents said hundreds of junta troops remain in the area and the situation remains tense.
In the other major hotspot, junta forces attacked KIA troops in Nam San Yang Village at around 5 a.m. on Monday. The village is controlled by KIA Brigade 5 and is located 9 km from Laiza town, which is home to the KIA’s headquarters.
About a thousand residents of Nam San Yang have fled to Waingmaw town, and some families have fled to Laiza. Having to flee their homes is nothing new for people in this area, many of whom spent the period from 2011 until 2019 as displaced persons.
“Actually, the Bamar military started launching attacks on KIA troops near the village on June 16. A brief skirmish broke out on that day, then things went quiet for a few weeks. However, since that time, we have been preparing to run,” said Ja Seng, a 42-year-old woman who is now taking shelter in a church in Waingmaw with her family.
Clashes intensified on Tuesday and the junta’s military has been shelling and launching air strikes in the KIA-controlled area around Nam San Yang.
Col. Naw Bu said the junta forces are attempting to take control of Nam San Yang, which is strategic for both sides, and he expected the fighting to intensify in the coming days.
“Yesterday [Wednesday], we didn’t have clashes on the ground. But the junta’s military fired at least 10 artillery shells. And, today, they are sending in over 130 troops as reinforcements from bases in Bhamo. So, the fight is not done yet. In fact, it is just a pause, and it is very likely to continue,” he said.
Junta troops have also been deployed in other Kachin townships to root out Kachin People’s Defense Force fighters and other local resistance groups. However, residents say junta troops have been raiding areas where there are no resistance groups and destroying people’s property.
Junta forces raided Bo Kone Village in Shwegu Township and burned down eight houses while over a thousand residents were forced to flee, they said. Some residents have also reportedly been arrested.