Seven naval vessels carrying troops and weapons up the Ayeyarwady River were fired on by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) near the town of Shwegu on Monday afternoon, according to a KIA spokesperson.
The attack on the naval convoy began near the village of Shwebonthar, about three miles from Shwegu, KIA information officer Col. Nawbu told Myanmar Now.
“They seem to be planning something, sending reinforcements like this. I heard there were also tanks. We’re still monitoring the situation,” he said.
He added that local People’s Defence Force (KIA) troops fought alongside the KIA during the clashes.
“We occasionally collaborate with the PDF, though it’s not something that was arranged or ordered by our central command,” he said.
The joint force managed to inflict some damage, but there were no reports of casualties, and the convoy was able to continue its journey, which it began in Mandalay three days earlier.
According to Kachin Wave, a local news outlet, one of the vessels was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) but was not disabled by the attack.
“The ship that got hit didn’t sink. [The RPG] did some damage, though,” the outlet quoted a source as saying.
Troops aboard the vessels also fired back at their attackers, Kachin Wave reported.
Clashes have been breaking out between the military and the KIA in Kachin State since April, as the junta continues to send weapons and reinforcements into the conflict zone, often by military or civilian river vessels.
Despite the build-up, there has been little evidence of movement among troops based in the area, according to Col. Nawbu. The clashes on Monday came after a week without any major engagements, he said.
However, Kachinnet Burmese, which is run by the KIA’s news and information department, has reported some shelling over the past few days.
It said that the military fired a number of times last Friday at bases operated by the KIA’s brigades 3 and 15. That came after junta troops stepped on landmines in KIA Brigade 5 territory earlier that day, Col. Nawbu explained.
There has also been fighting between the military and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, also known as the Kokang Army, in the Mongko (Mankan) area of northern Shan State, where KIA Brigade 6 is also active.
