The Myanmar Air Force has carried out more than 70 retaliatory airstrikes against the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) during fighting over control of the regime’s Military Operations Command (MOC) 21 in Bhamo Township of southern Kachin State since Saturday.
“We [have] seized defensive positions around the MOC 21,” a source from the KIA told DVB. Bhamo is located 120 miles (193 km) south of the Kachin State capital Myitkyina and 58 miles (93 km) southwest of Laiza, the KIA headquarters.
The KIA claimed that it has captured an undisclosed number of frontline outposts belonging to the regime’s MOC 21 and has shot down seven of its Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), or drones.
The regime has reportedly airdropped weapons, ammunition, and other supplies to its troops stationed in Bhamo since it has been unable to send in reinforcements by road.
A source close to the regime told DVB that over 100 military conscripts were sent to Myitkyina Township to replenish the regime’s dwindling number of troops in the state capital on Saturday.
The KIA-led resistance forces launched their offensive in southern Kachin on Dec. 4. It captured the regime’s LIB 236 on Feb. 20, Tank Battalion 5014 on Feb. 7, Artillery Battalion 366 on Feb. 2, the Bhamo Airport on Jan. 26, and the Armored Battalion 7006 on Jan. 25.
The KIA has seized 14 out of 18 townships in Kachin, as well as Mabein in northern Shan State, since it launched its state-wide offensive against regime forces last March.
The battle for Bhamo has been one of its most protracted fights with regime forces in the year-long conflict.
Naw Bu, the KIA spokesperson, told DVB last week that the reason for the delay in capturing Bhamo was due to the failure of the KIA in cutting off the regime’s supply routes. This gives its troops access to its recently-acquired UAV arsenal.
Pro-regime social media accounts shared footage of a UAV-mounted forward-looking infrared (FLIR) system on Feb. 7, according to a report from Jane’s Defence Weekly.
An FLIR system detects infrared radiation, or heat, emitted by objects and creates thermal images based on temperature differences, enabling visibility in complete darkness, or in other low-visibility conditions.
The footage supposedly showed a night-time battle in and around the Bhamo Prison on Feb. 6. Its thermal imaging revealed KIA personnel being targeted by munitions, or so-called “drop bombs,” released from the same UAV.
Naw Bu declined to comment on how the KIA plans to counter regime UAV drone strikes, citing privacy concerns over sharing military strategy.
