Kachin fighters capture town in Myanmar’s far north

The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and its allies took control of Sumprabum, a town in Myanmar’s northernmost Putao District, early Sunday morning, according to the group’s spokesperson. The anti-regime forces had been trying to capture a tactical hill camp near the town—which is located about 125 miles north of the Kachin State capital Myitkyina—since early March. “We now have full control [of the camp],” KIA information officer Col. Naw Bu said on Sunday, noting that Sumprabum is at the foot of the mountain where the Infantry Battalion (IB) 46 camp is located. On March 8, the KIA and allied resistance forces captured a junta camp a few miles north of Sumprabum. Fighting intensified in the town on March 14, forcing local police to surrender. Since then, the IB 46 camp has been the focus of efforts to take over the town. Most of the soldiers stationed at the camp reportedly fled the final assault. The quantity of weapons and ammunition seized at the site was not known at the time of reporting. Sumprabum, situated at an altitude of 4,600 feet above sea level, has around 10,000 inhabitants, most of them ethnic Kachin. According to a local man, few have remained in the town since the fighting began. He added that the sound of fighting had been incessant in recent days, and that the military conducted several airstrikes on Sunday. “I could hear the fighting until just now. People have not yet returned due to fear of being bombed. Some young people went to assess the state of the town, but haven’t returned yet,” he said. A map shows the location of the IB 46 camp near Sumprabum While the main tactical hill camp had fallen by Sunday, troops at two smaller outposts were still fighting back, according to Naw Bu. “When our forces attacked the IB 46 tactical camp, we heard that the military set up outposts at two locations on the road to the town. But these positions don’t appear to be very strong,” he said. He added that the junta forces, including reinforcements sent from Putao and members of a regime-backed militia, put up a fierce resistance during the battle for control of the IB 46 camp. “They also used their air force, both to drop food for their troops and to carry out bombings. It’s evident that they were fighting back hard,” said Naw Bu. KIA-led allied forces have captured more than 70 regime positions in Kachin State and parts of northern Shan State since the start of a new offensive launched on March 7, according to Naw Bu. Last week, on April 29, the anti-regime forces seized control of Sinbo, a town located about 60 miles south of Myitkyina, after successfully overrunning the nearby IB 141 camp. That follows the capture of Lwegel, a trade hub on the border with China, on April 8. The KIA and its allies also seized Mabein, a town in northern Shan State, in late January.

Kachin fighters capture town in Myanmar’s far north

The town of Sumprabum in northern Kachin State’s Putao District is the latest to fall to anti-junta forces since the start of an offensive in early March

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