Heavy fighting has broken out in recent days near the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) stronghold of Laiza, according to a spokesperson for the group.
The clashes began at around 5am on Monday with attacks launched by a large junta force near the village of Nam Sang Yang, about 20km north of Laiza, Col. Naw Bu, the KIA spokesperson, told Myanmar Now.
“We fired back with heavy weapons,” he said, adding that regime reinforcements armed with machine guns, 60mm mortars, and 105mm and 120mm artillery arrived from neighbouring Bhamo Township the next morning.
While the two sides have not yet engaged in direct combat, the situation on the ground “remains tense,” he added.
There have also been local media reports that a junta convoy of around 10 army trucks has blocked the Bhamo-Myitkyina highway since the fighting began.
Nam Sang Yang, which is located on the highway, recently saw the return of villagers displaced by previous clashes in the area, according to locals.
Col. Naw Bu said he believed the military may be attempting to re-establish outposts in the surrounding Dwan Bam and Khaya hills that were dismantled as part of an agreement with the KIA.
On Tuesday, the KIA’s political wing, the Kachin Independence Organisation, which is headquartered in Laiza, issued a statement warning locals to avoid travel in the area.
Meanwhile, pro-junta Telegram channels claimed that regime forces were preparing to seize control of Laiza, which is located on the Chinese border in Kachin State’s Waingmaw Township.
The latest tensions began exactly a week after a junta column of around 200 soldiers and members of the military-backed Pyu Saw Htee militia triggered an exchange of fire on June 26 by entering KIA Brigade 3 territory east of the town of Waingmaw.
Clashes also broke out after KIA Battalion 44 intercepted a junta column near the village of Tada Nyi Naung in Hpakant Township on May 16.
Since the military seized power in February 2021, the KIA has strongly supported the anti-regime People’s Defence Force (PDF) formed by the shadow National Unity Government.
On April 26, Zau Seng, a battalion commander sent by the KIA to assist PDF troops in Sagaing Region’s Kawlin Township, was killed in battle along with eight other junta opponents.
