Myanmar’s military carried out a series of airstrikes in Kachin State’s Hpakant Township on Sunday following coordinated attacks by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) earlier in the day, according to local sources.
The airstrikes began around two hours after the KIA mounted assaults on three army outposts in Hpakant’s Nang Jang Kuu region early Sunday morning, the sources said.
A resident of the area told Myanmar Now that at least two of the three outposts—located in Awng Lin, Seng Ja and Gar Khayan—were overrun by KIA forces.
“We heard that several junta soldiers died and some weapons were seized” in Awng Lin and Seng Ja, said the man, who did not want to be named.
The KIA’s information officer, Col Saw Bu, confirmed the reports of the attacks and the airstrikes, said he couldn’t say for sure if the KIA managed to hold on to the outposts.
“It happened at around 7am. We received information that three outposts in Nang Jang Kuu were attacked and that the military carried out airstrikes using fighter jets,” he said.
The attacks on Sunday followed a clash in the area the day before, according to the local man who spoke to Myanmar Now.
After the KIA seized control of the outposts in Awng Lin and Seng Ja, the military’s tactical bases on Kan Hsee Da Nyin Hill, Hpakant Hill and Lone Khin Hill started shelling the area, he added, noting that the airstrikes began at around 9am.
No details of casualties or damage from the airstrikes were available at the time of reporting.
The junta has cut internet access in Hpakant, where local People’s Defence Force groups have collaborated with the KIA to attack regime forces based in the township and neighbouring areas.
