Myanmar military bombards village near Hpakant after losing police outpost

Subscribe to the Myanmar Now daily newsletter. It's free. Sign up > Myanmar’s military has launched airstrikes near the jade-mining town of Hpakant in Kachin State following the loss of a police outpost to the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) early Thursday morning. According to a local source close to the KIA, the group and its allies began attacking the outpost, situated on a hill near the village of Hseng Taung, late Wednesday night. “There was heavy fighting throughout the night, but they finally managed to capture it this morning,” the source told Myanmar Now early Thursday. “There were prisoners taken, and several junta soldiers were killed. Currently, the surrounding area is being cleared,” he added. Hours later, at around 1pm, the military began dropping bombs on the village, including one near the Lucky Man Hotel, where regime forces have been holed up with hostages since Saturday. Footage circulating on social media shows a military jet flying low over the Hseng Taung area before dropping the bombs. The video captures loud explosions, billowing smoke, and buildings engulfed in flames. Reports suggest that the airstrikes targeted the area near the outpost that the KIA and its ally, the Kachin People’s Defence Force (KPDF), had captured earlier in the morning. Fighting near the Lucky Man Hotel area remained intense until noon on Thursday, after which junta forces reportedly withdrew, according to some locals. Around 100 soldiers arrived in Hseng Taung on Saturday. After occupying the Lucky Man Hotel and taking its employees hostage, KIA and KPDF forces surrounded the hotel, leading to days of heavy fighting. The six-day battle left at least 10 civilians dead and many more injured, with numerous homes destroyed, according to a local resident. “Many houses in Hseng Taung were set on fire by artillery shelling, and several civilians were injured or killed. Nearly the entire village has fled,” he said. KIA spokesperson Col. Naw Bu told Myanmar Now late Thursday that it remains unclear how many additional casualties have been caused by the junta’s airstrikes. “The fighting continues to this moment,” he said, adding that it is also unclear what the regime hopes to achieve with its relentless bombing of Hseng Taung. “They are doing it either to regain their bases or because they don’t want to leave anything behind. They don’t care about the civilians. They’re just committing war crimes.”

Myanmar military bombards village near Hpakant after losing police outpost

The targeted village, Hseng Taung, has been the scene of heavy fighting since junta troops took over a local hotel last weekend

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