Myanmar junta troops shoot, detain two KIO officials in Myitkyina

Two Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO) officials were taken into junta custody in the Kachin State capital Myitkyina on Sunday after being shot while attempting to flee from a checkpoint, according to residents. The incident occurred at around 3pm, when three men on motorcycles were stopped by regime soldiers on Myitkyina’s Sanpya Road. While one of the men was being questioned, the other two tried to speed away, sources said. “I heard a bang and then saw two young men on an FZ-type motorcycle turn around and drive away at full speed,” said a woman who witnessed the incident. As they were pursuing the men, the soldiers opened fire, shooting them both in the legs, a source close to the Kachin Independence Army, the armed wing of the KIO, told Myanmar Now. “They were KIO administrators from the town of Kamaing and the village of Lawa in Hpakant Township,” the source said, adding that details about their condition were not yet known. After they were shot, the two men were loaded onto a truck and taken to the junta’s Northern Regional Military Command headquarters on the western side of Myitkyina, he added. The motorcycle of the two KIO officials who were shot in Myitkyina on September 14, and the scene of the shooting (Photo: Supplied) The shooting caused people at the scene to scatter, but the situation returned to normal within about an hour, locals said. KIA spokesperson Colonel Naw Bu confirmed that two members of the group had been arrested in Myitkyina, but said he was still waiting for additional information. “They were junior staff, not senior officials,” he said. This is not the first time that KIO/KIA officials have been arrested in Myitkyina. In November 2022, around a dozen were rounded up during a raid on a karaoke bar. Security has been tight in Myitkyina due to fighting in Waingmaw Township, which is situated just across the Ayeyarwady River from the Kachin capital. Heavy artillery fired from Myitkyina is routinely used to provide support for junta troops in Waingmaw. According to residents, the military has also been bolstering its defences along the riverbank in Myitkyina, as fighting draws closer to the city. Intense clashes have also been reported in other parts of Kachin State, including around the jade-mining centre of Hpakant and near Bhamo, the state’s second-largest city. Last week, the regime recaptured two bases that had been held by the KIA and its allies since early this year. Since launching an offensive in March of last year, the KIA and its allies have seized 14 towns in Kachin State.

Myanmar junta troops shoot, detain two KIO officials in Myitkyina

The incident occurred amid heightened tension in the Kachin State capital as fighting in neighbouring Waingmaw Township intensifies

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