Five Kachin State townships hit by junta airstrikes in a single day

Myanmar’s military carried out airstrikes in five townships across Kachin State on Wednesday, amid heavy fighting with Kachin Independence Army (KIA) forces, according to sources. Attacks were reported in Waingmaw Township, east of the state capital Myitkyina, as well as in Hpakant Township to the west, Bhamo Township to the south, and Kawnglanghpu and Tsawlaw townships to the north. In Waingmaw, junta aircraft targeted Shwenyaungpin, a village in the eastern part of the township, injuring three civilians, according to a KIA statement released on Wednesday. Lamyan, another village in the area, was also hit, the group said, adding that the regime has been deploying artillery, drones, and warplanes in recent heavy clashes. Late Wednesday night, the military also bombed targets near the headquarters of the KIA’s Battalion 6, near the town of Hpakant. There were no confirmed casualties at the time of reporting. “We can say for sure that 20 or 30 bombs were dropped, but we still haven’t heard anything about casualties,” KIA spokesperson Col. Naw Bu told Myanmar Now. The same area was also targeted on Tuesday, killing a man at a drug rehabilitation centre, according to locals. An attack was also carried out on the jade market in the village of Long Hkin, east of the town centre, on Wednesday, forcing local jade dealers to flee, sources there said. The airstrikes near Hpakant come despite relatively little fighting in the area, locals said, noting that some junta troops have recently withdrawn. Meanwhile, the situation near Bhamo remains intense, with both sides launching offensive operations to expand areas under their control. Airstrikes were reported near the Infantry Battalion 47 base south of the town on Wednesday and early Thursday, a local source close to the KIA said. In the north, the regime launched airstrikes on both Tuesday and Wednesday after KIA forces captured two camps operated by a pro-junta People’s Militia group in Kawnglanghpu Township, another source said. The strikes were aimed at targets in Kawnglanghpu Township, as well as in the Lan Se area of neighbouring Tsawlaw Township, according to the source. “They’re dropping bombs. When they’re hurting, they drop bombs. I think that more than 20 bombs were dropped around Lan Se,” the source said. A church and several houses were reportedly damaged in the village of Narpayhpon, but the source said he had not received any information regarding casualties. According to Col. Naw Bu, the junta has stepped up its efforts to reclaim territory captured by the KIA ahead of elections slated to begin at the end of December. The KIA has seized hundreds of bases and more than a dozen towns since it launched a major offensive in March of last year. Despite sending large numbers of reinforcements to the state, including many who were forcibly recruited under the junta’s conscription law, the military has only been able to retake a small percentage of the territory it lost, he said.

Five Kachin State townships hit by junta airstrikes in a single day

The KIA says the regime is intensifying its efforts to reclaim territory ahead of elections slated for the end of the year

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