The Kachin Independence Army. / The Irrawaddy
The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and resistance allies attacked four junta outposts on Wednesday and Thursday in the jade-mining hub of Hpakant in Kachin State.
Junta troops and Shanni Nationalities Army (SNA) allies were reportedly deployed in those outposts.
KIA-led resistance forces overran and torched a police outpost at a Buddhist monastery in Hpakant on Wednesday evening, a town resident told The Irrawaddy.
“The police outpost had been there a long time. I heard gunfire. Junta troops withdrew and the outpost was torched. I don’t know about casualties,” she said.
Resistance forces attacked a junta and SNA outpost in a pre-dawn raid on Thursday near Sel Zin village in Hpakant Township. Weapons and food were seized, according to a KIA source.
“The attack took place in the early morning. The attackers probably did not want to attract air attacks. I don’t know about casualties,” said the source.
The KIA also attacked a hilltop outpost and a position in Karmine town in the east of the township on Thursday morning, according to KIA sources. Junta forces reportedly suffered casualties. The Irrawaddy could not independently confirm those reports.
There were media reports that three other junta and SNA outposts were seized near Sel Zin village.
The KIA and regime have been fighting to control the lucrative Hpakant jade mines. Several unsolved murders have occurred in the town since the 2021 coup, said a Hpakant resident.
Junta troops shot dead two men outside a restaurant in Lone Khin village on January 11, according to residents.
A resident said: “There have been skirmishes everywhere across Hpakant. Gunfights and murders take place almost every day. This month seems worse. We feel increasingly unsafe. Unidentified bodies are dumped by the roads with bullet wounds.”
KIA Brigade 9 is based in Hpakant. At least 60 KIA members and civilians were killed in October when junta aircraft bombed a Hpakant Township music concert to mark the 62nd anniversary of the founding of the Kachin Independence Organization. The KIA has vowed to retaliate.
