Junta shelling kills three near Myanmar jade centre of Hpakant

Shelling by Myanmar’s military has killed three civilians, including a child, since Sunday amid intensifying clashes near the jade-mining centre of Hpakant in Kachin State, according to local sources. Fighting began last Friday, when junta troops launched offensive operations against a military camp located about a mile west of the town. The Nyaungpinkone camp, which was controlled by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), is situated near the village of Sharawhka. Other villages in the area have also been affected. The first victim, a 21-year-old man from Sharawhka, was killed on Sunday, while two others—a 35-year-old man and a three-year-old child from the village of Myaukphyu—died on Monday. According to a resident of the area, regime forces fired on the villages from a tactical hill near the Nyaungpinkone camp. “Artillery fire from the Hpakant tactical hill was aimed at the Nyaungpinkone camp, where fighting was taking place, but fell into Sharawhka. Another shell landed in Sankywei, and after that, one hit Myaukphyu, north of Sharawhka,” the local man said. The KIA was forced to retreat from the Nyaungpinkone camp on Saturday, but launched a counterattack the next day, triggering intense fighting that continued until around noon Monday. Most residents of Sharawhka, Sankywei, and Myaukphyu—where a total of 10 people were injured by the shelling—have since fled their homes, sources told Myanmar Now. Locals and social assistance groups helped to bury the dead and provide medical treatment to the wounded, the sources added. KIA spokesperson Colonel Naw Bu confirmed that the group’s troops had to temporarily abandon a camp near Hpakant, but did not provide any detailed information about the situation. Meanwhile, there have also been reports of small arms and artillery fire near Lone Khin, a village located just east of Hpakant. Most of the town and villages to the east are currently under junta control. The regime has been fighting to retake positions on the western side of Hpakant since late May. Serious clashes have also been reported in other parts of Kachin State in recent days, including in Waingmaw, Mogaung, Indawgyi, Shwegu, and Bhamo townships. On Sunday, six soldiers from the junta army and its ally, the Shanni Nationalities Army, were reportedly killed in a battle near In Gyin Kone, a village in Mogaung Township. In early July, junta ships carrying weapons, ammunition, supplies, and reinforcements arrived in Bhamo from Mandalay. Last week, however, resistance attacks forced three naval vessels to reverse course while travelling towards the town on the Ayeyarwady River. Since launching offensive operations in March of last year, the KIA and its allies have captured 14 towns in Kachin State, as well as Mabein in northern Shan State.

Junta shelling kills three near Myanmar jade centre of Hpakant

Fighting has also been reported in other parts of Kachin State as the regime steps up efforts to retake territory lost since last year

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