Kachin Independence Army captures two junta camps in one day

Joint forces belonging to the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and Kachin People's Defence Force (PDF) captured two junta outposts in Hpakant and Mansi townships in Kachin State last week, according to members of the resistance. At 4pm on February 2, the KIA and Kachin PDF surrounded and attacked the Myanmar army’s Namtein camp, located 14 miles east of Hpakant on the road connecting the town with the Kachin State capital of Myitkyina. “After fighting continuously for four hours straight, [the junta soldiers] ran away,” a Kachin PDF officer said. During the battle, a military jet opened fire on the area, and troops at bases including one on a tactical hill in Hpakant fired heavy artillery. Around 50 junta soldiers under Light Infantry Division 33 had been stationed at the site, which the resistance coalition had been targeting since early January, along with the Hway Hkar camp, which they seized on January 20. At the time of reporting, it was not known how many casualties there had been on either side. Namtein and Hway Hkar were targeted due to their strategic location allowing access to Hpakant town, the Kachin PDF officer told Myanmar Now. “We have blocked the two main entrances, so we can now cut off the military council's route to send reinforcements,” he said of the posts. A Hpakant local who is close to both groups in the resistance coalition said that villagers from around Namtein had been fleeing the area since fighting began one month ago, and that Hpakant remained tense. Troops appeared to be preparing to defend remaining military camps around the town, he added. KIA troops also seized the Myanmar army’s Balawng Dingsa camp in Mansi Township on the same day as taking the Namtein site. Kachin forces attacked the post on February 1 and captured it at around 7:30am the next day, but further details of the clash were not confirmed at the time of reporting, KIA information officer Col Naw Bu told local media outlets. Balawng Dingsa is more than 20 miles southeast of Mansi town, and a few miles from the Kaik Hteik camp, which was taken over by the KIA on January 29. The KIA has intensified its operations against the military in northern Shan State as well, attacking junta targets around Mabein and Mongmit townships and in Namphetkha, in Kutkai, where they shot down a military supply helicopter and a fighter jet. The KIA, accompanied by the All Burma Students’ Democratic Front and the PDF, captured the town of Mabein on January 21, after days of clashes.

Kachin Independence Army captures two junta camps in one day

Accompanied by the Kachin People's Defence Force, the KIA overruns a strategic post outside of Hpakant town, as well as another site in Mansi Township

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