KIA and allies seize three large Myanmar army bases near Laiza

The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) says it has captured three major army bases and more than 10 smaller camps since the start of a new offensive against Myanmar’s military near the country’s border with China. The group and its allies have been carrying out coordinated attacks on junta targets along the road from the Kachin State capital Myitkyina to the town of Bhamo, some 120 miles to the south, since early Thursday morning. The road lies just west of Laiza, a town on the Myanmar-China border that serves as the KIA’s main base of operations. The Arakan Army (AA), an allied group, is also headquartered there. The AA and a number of other organisations, including the People’s Defence Force formed by the shadow National Unity Government, have also taken part in the offensive. According to KIA spokesperson Col. Naw Bu, the allied forces had captured three strategically important bases near Laiza by early Friday morning. The Hpun Pyen Bum hill base—the regime’s closest military position to Laiza—and the Ntap Bum base near Nam Sang Yang, a village just west of the Myitkyina-Bhamo road, both fell by late Thursday, he said. The last to fall was the Mali base, which is currently being cleared, he added. Among the smaller camps that were captured was one near the In Long Hka bridge, where Shwe Min, the leader of an ethnic Lisu militia group loyal to Myanmar’s military, was killed on Thursday. The regime has responded to the latest offensive by carrying out airstrikes and artillery attacks on Laiza, hitting it multiple times on Friday morning, according to Naw Bu. “Some heavy artillery shells landed in Laiza and the surrounding area, but so far there have been no reports of casualties,” he said, adding that a number of shells are believed to have exploded on the Chinese side of the border. In a statement released on Friday, the AA also said that several artillery shells had landed inside China. However, the group was unable to provide any further details. Two residents of Laiza who spoke to Myanmar Now said that at least four explosions could be heard on the other side of the border. According to Naw Bu, the fighting is now focussed on the Hkara and Bum Re hills about four miles west of Laiza, with the military providing air support for ground troops still attempting to hold their positions. While two smaller outposts on the hills were captured yesterday, the main bases are still under junta control, said Naw Bu. Thursday’s attacks began with raids on junta army camps in the towns of Waingmaw, Dawthponeyan, and Bhamo, as well as on an air force base near Myitkyina used for launching airstrikes in northern Myanmar.

KIA and allies seize three large Myanmar army bases near Laiza

There were also reports of junta artillery shells fired at the KIA headquarters landing on the Chinese side of the border

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