KIA, allies seize Myanmar junta’s Sezin base in Hpakant Township

The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and an allied resistance group say they captured a key base in Kachin State’s Hpakant Township on Wednesday after two weeks of fighting. The base, located in Sezin, a village about 40 miles southwest of the town of Hpakant, had been the target of attacks by the KIA and its ally, the Kachin Region People’s Defence Force (PDF), since April 9, a member of the Kachin PDF told Myanmar Now. After capturing the village’s police station on the first day of fighting following the surrender of 23 police officers, the two groups continued to mount assaults on junta troops stationed in a village monastery and on a nearby hill. As the clashes intensified, the regime carried out multiple airstrikes on April 20 and 21, according to the Kachin PDF fighter. Two days later, a major battle broke out that lasted until all the soldiers inside the monastery retreated, he added. “We managed to seize the monastery at around 7pm and now we have the base on the hill. We only sustained minor injuries. None of the junta soldiers were killed, but a lot of them were injured,” said the Kachin PDF officer, speaking to Myanmar Now at around 1pm on Wednesday. The 70 junta soldiers stationed in Sezin reportedly withdrew to Shwe Dwin, a village just across the border in Sagaing Region’s Homalin Township. The Shanni Nationalities Army (SNA), an ethnic armed group allied to the regime, has a base in Swe Dwin. “The SNA came to pick up those who were seriously injured. We also attacked the SNA vehicle with explosive-attached drones and managed to hit them,” said the Kachin PDF officer. He added that he believed a significant number of weapons were left behind by the retreating troops, but said he couldn’t confirm this as the area was still being cleared. Sezin is a village of around 700 households. Arson attacks by the junta troops stationed at the monastery reportedly destroyed 10 houses in the village, which has been mostly deserted since the fighting began, according to a resident. Fighting has also taken place in the village on other occasions. In August 2021, the SNA reportedly burned down between 200 and 400 houses in Sezin following airstrikes carried out against the KIA. The military base at Sezin was the first to be attacked by the KIA after the February 2021 coup. More battles broke out in the area in mid-2022. The KIA has seized around 70 junta bases in Kachin State’s Momauk and Waingmaw townships since the start of an offensive that it launched with its allies on March 7. Locals greet KIA troops returning from the frontlines in late March (Hpyen Shiga) The fighting has focussed mainly on the area around the 120-mile stretch of highway from state capital Myitkyina to Bhamo, and on the road from Bhamo to Lwegel, a town on the Chinese border that was captured by the Kachin forces on April 8. On April 11, the KIA also took control of a key junta base near Nam Ya, a village about 20 miles east of the jade-mining town of Hpakant.

KIA, allies seize Myanmar junta’s Sezin base in Hpakant Township

The base, captured after two weeks of fighting, is the latest to fall to Kachin forces since the launch of an offensive on March 7

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