MyanmarNews

Junta helicopter crashes near Kachin Independence Army headquarters after coming under attack

The KIA fired on the aircraft, which was believed to be sending supplies to a nearby military base, but could not confirm whether it went down due to a hit or mechanical failure

A Myanmar military helicopter crashed near the command headquarters of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in Laiza, Kachin State, on Wednesday morning after being shot at by the ethnic armed organisation, according to its spokesperson.

The aircraft was reportedly not an attack helicopter, but the type used to transport supplies—in this case, to the junta’s tactical base eight miles northeast of Laiza in Waingmaw Township’s Nahpaw village tract, KIA information officer Col Naw Bu said. 

“We can confirm that the aircraft has crashed and that we fired at it. But we are not clear whether it crashed because it was hit by us, or because of its own mechanical failure,” he explained. “We are assuming that the aircraft came from the Myitkyina air force [base] and it was heading towards Nahpaw in order to send supplies, considering there haven’t been any battles here recently.”

Myitkyina. . .

Your first month FREE this December

Get unlimited access to high-quality reporting from the frontlines and support independent journalism.

Subscribe Now

Related Articles

Back to top button