KIA captures army, SNA security bases in Kachin State

Amid intensifying clashes late last week in Kachin State’s Mohnyin Township, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and allies seized two security outposts controlled by the Myanmar army and the Shanni Nationalities Army (SNA), a junta-allied militia, frontline sources said. The KIA-led forces initiated assaults on the heavily defended outposts, located on the western shore of Indawgyi Lake near the village of Long Ton, last Friday and succeeded in capturing them the following day, according to sources near the fighting. The same sources said the KIA-led fighters continued to deploy drones and exchange artillery fire with the enemy forces—including both troops from the military’s Infantry Battalion (IB) 389 base and SNA militia—through Sunday. Throughout the clashes, the military repeatedly sent in aircraft to support its ground forces, bombing both military targets and villages inhabited by civilians, according to a source close to the KIA. “When they took heavy losses in the battle, they deployed three to four fighter jets to strike the permanent bases as well as nearby villages outside the combat zone,” the man said. Army and allied SNA forces number around 1,000 in the villages on the western shore of Indawgyi Lake. Since last year, they have also clashed with KIA-led forces for control of territory on the eastern shore. The area around Indawgyi Lake, located less than 20 miles north of the town of Mohnyin and less than 70 miles southwest of the Kachin State capital, Myitkyina, is home to both Shanni and Kachin ethnic communities. The lake was a popular tourist destination before the 2021 military coup. Clashes have forced civilians living on both sides of the lake to flee their homes. The SNA, which continues to control most of the area, has been pressuring young people among the local population to attend military training. The militia has also used its checkpoints to restrict travel on nearby roads and stop young potential recruits from leaving the area. Formerly opposed to the military, the SNA formed an alliance with the junta after the 2021 coup and has participated in joint operations with regime forces in Sagaing Region and Kachin State. In addition to the fighting near Indawgyi Lake, clashes are ongoing elsewhere in Kachin State and have been especially intense in and near Bhamo. The KIA and its allies have continued to carry out a large-scale offensive against the military since March 2024, during which they have succeeded in seizing control of more than a dozen towns in Kachin State as well as the nearby town of Mabein in northern Shan State.

KIA captures army, SNA security bases in Kachin State

Forces led by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) overran two security outposts near Indawgyi Lake manned by junta soldiers and members of the Shanni Nationalities Army (SNA)

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