Fighting intensifies near Bhamo as KIA offensive continues

Allied forces led by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) are continuing their push for control of the southern Kachin State town of Bhamo, with fierce clashes reported in the area in recent days. The latest fighting has centred on the headquarters of the junta’s Military Operations Command 21 (MOC-21) northeast of Bhamo and the bases of two infantry battalions—IB 47 and IB 236—to the south, according to KIA spokesperson Colonel Naw Bu. “Currently, the fighting is most intense around the MOC-21 headquarters and IB 236, where the junta is carrying out ongoing airstrikes,” he said, speaking to Myanmar Now on Tuesday. The battle for Bhamo began on December 4 with an offensive launched by the KIA and two allied groups, the Kachin People’s Defence Force and the All Burma Students’ Democratic Front. Although the fighting subsided early in the year, it flared up again in the last week of January, resulting in the capture of the town’s airport and several key military positions and residential areas by the KIA-led forces. The allies seized the airport and the base of Artillery Battalion 366 on January 26, a day after the fall of the Armoured Battalion 7006 base in Bhamo, according to the KIA. On February 2, the military’s No. 2 Electrical and Mechanical Engineering Corps was also taken. Eight armoured vehicles and a variety of weapons and ammunition were seized during the operations, and several junta troops were taken prisoner, the group said. A Bhamo resident currently sheltering in a nearby village said that the regime has carried out multiple airstrikes in response to its recent losses. “I can hear their aircraft dropping bombs and see the fires raging, but I’m not sure which areas were hit,” he said, adding that the aerial assaults begin each morning as fighting intensifies. Displaced for the past two months, he said that he and his family, like many others affected by the conflict, are struggling just to get by. “There are so many hardships. It’s become impossible to earn a living, so we’re just doing our best to survive on what we have,” he said. Last month, the KIA and its allies took full control of Mansi, a town south of Bhamo near the Chinese border, after more than a month of fighting. On Monday, they also reportedly captured a number of bases operated by the Shanni Nationalities Army, a junta ally. China has reportedly been exerting heavy pressure on the KIA to agree to a ceasefire with the regime. However, while fighting has eased in other areas where the group is active, the clashes around Bhamo continue to escalate. Since launching an offensive against the military in March of last year, the KIA and its allies have captured the towns of Sumprabum, Injangyang, Sadung, Chipwe, Tsawlaw, Hpi Maw, Pangwa, Dawthponeyan, Sinbo, Myo Hla, Momauk, Lwegel, and Kanpaikti in Kachin State and Mabein in northern Shan State.

Fighting intensifies near Bhamo as KIA offensive continues

Clashes in the area had eased around the start of the year, but flared up again late last month

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