Myanmar military troops and members of the allied Shadu Zup militia attacked a Kachin Independence Army (KIA) base in Kachin State’s Tanai Township on Monday morning, killing two KIA troops.
KIA information officer Col Naw Bu told Myanmar Now that the combined forces arrived in two army trucks at around 4am and overran the site, located near the Ka Nwe Thu gold mine.
“We had to abandon the base as they had much more firepower,” he said.
The Shadu Zup militia has reportedly been active in the area since June, where it is stationed in Sanpya village and operates under the command of the military’s Infantry Battalion (IB) 297. The group also reportedly runs gold mining projects in Tanai.
Local news sources described Monday’s assault as having been led by Shadu Zup’s leader Min Zin Thant. Myanmar Now was unable to independently verify the reports.
Starting on Saturday, junta forces also clashed with the KIA for three days near Sezin village, located at the border of Sagaing Region and Kachin State’s Hpakant Township. Military jets launched airstrikes on the area in order to create an escape route for soldiers who were surrounded by KIA troops, according to locals.
Although the fighting near Sezin appeared to have halted by Tuesday, the junta launched two more air attacks on the area that afternoon at 1:30 and 4pm, damaging three homes in the village, a resident said.
“There were holes in the roofs and walls but no one was injured as everyone had already fled,” he told Myanmar Now, explaining that the Sezin locals had been sheltering in the village monastery and area churches during the recent clashes.
The KIA’s Col Naw Bu added that battles around Sezin could resume at any time.
“Since neither side is retreating, tension remains high,” he said.
Troops from the Myanmar army’s IB 24 and the KIA’s Battalion 26 under Brigade 9—whose territory is Hpakant—had been the forces involved in the recent fighting.
Serious battles also broke out near Nam Zaw Yang village in Waingmaw Township on July 11 when a joint junta-militia force began shelling KIA frontline bases. The military reportedly suffered significant casualties in the subsequent fighting.
The KIA is one of several ethnic armed organisations in Myanmar that have condemned the coup which ousted the country’s elected civilian government.
Kachin Independence Organisation chair Gen N’Ban La has called for cooperation with resistance forces seeking to end military rule.
CAPTION: A KIA soldier is seen at the La Jar Yang base in Laiza in 2012 (EPA)
