Fighting resumed in Bhamo Township of southern Kachin State on Saturday after the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) continued its offensive on the Military Operations Command (MOC) 21, ending a week of relative calm, according to a source on the frontline.
“We started the attack, not the military,” the source told DVB on the condition of anonymity. 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 source added that the regime’s last remaining outpost, the Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 58 in Waingmaw Township, was reinforced on Friday. Waingmaw is located 130 miles (209 km) north of Bhamo and 30 miles (48 km) east of Myitkyina.
Regime forces took positions in villages along the Myitkyina-Tanai road in Myitkyina Township on Saturday while the Burma Air Force carried out airstrikes on settlements along the road, which caused residents to flee their homes.
The KIA-led resistance forces launched an offensive in Bhamo District on Dec. 4. It captured the regime’s Light Infantry Battalion (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 townships in Kachin, including Mabein in northern Shan State, since it launched its state-wide offensive against regime forces on March 7.
