Myanmar military launches airstrikes on Laiza as KIA moves closer to Myitkyina

The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) stronghold of Laiza was hit by airstrikes late Tuesday night, hours after the group and its allies captured a junta army battalion headquarters near the Kachin State capital Myitkyina. There were no confirmed casualties from any of the three bombs dropped on Laiza at around 11pm on Tuesday, according to KIA information officer Col. Naw Bu. “We’re still investigating to find out where they fell, as it happened so late at night,” he told Myanmar Now on Wednesday. It was unknown if any of the bombs landed across the border in China. However, a video posted by local media outlet Kachin Waves appears to show warning flares being fired as junta aircraft approached Chinese territory. The attacks began about three hours after the KIA-led forces took control of the Light Infantry Battalion 321 base near the village of Shwe Nyaungbin in Waingmaw Township, he added. The base is located about 10 miles southeast of the town of Waingmaw, which lies opposite Myitkyina on the Ayeyarwady River. The allied anti-regime forces began attacking it on Saturday. According to Naw Bu, the military responded by launching missile and heavy artillery attacks on the base through the night. Videos posted on social media by local residents show multiple missiles being fired in the general direction of the captured base. “They started firing at around 8pm, around four or five missiles at a time, aimed at Waingmaw,” said a man living in Myitkyina, adding that the sound of the attacks could be heard throughout the town. As the KIA moves closer to Myitkyina, the military has stepped up its security measures, conducting random vehicle inspections at intersections in and around the town, said the man. Locals flee from Waingmaw to Myitkyina on May 21 (Abbot Wah Shaung) The KIA has been trying to take control of Waingmaw since it launched a major offensive across much of the state in early March. Only one more base, belonging to Infantry Battalion 58, still stands in its way, according to Naw Bu. He described fighting in the area as far more intense than any seen so far in the conflict. “I’d say the current battles are different from the previous ones, as they are now firing heavy artillery and conducting airstrikes relentlessly throughout the night, and also using serial missiles,” he said. On Monday, at least six civilians, including two children, were killed by junta shelling in Khat Cho, a village just outside of Waingmaw. While most residents of the area have fled the fighting, around 2,000 are still stranded in camps for internally displaced persons, according to people responsible for managing the camps. “They have no place left to flee to. Everyone’s free to leave our camp, and some have taken refuge with relatives in Myitkyina. Some have also sent their elderly relatives there. But the rest have nowhere else to go,” said one camp officer. While no fighting was reported in Waingmaw on Wednesday, the situation near Momauk and Mansi, about 100 miles to the south, has been increasingly tense, the KIA said in a statement. Since April, KIA-led fighters have taken control of the northern Shan State town of Mabein, as well as the Kachin State towns of Injangyang, Sinbo, Sumprabum, and Lwegel, a trade hub on the China-Myanmar border.

Myanmar military launches airstrikes on Laiza as KIA moves closer to Myitkyina

The attacks were prompted by the capture of a key junta base near Waingmaw, a town located next to the Kachin State capital

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