The Kachin Independence Army (KIA), along with its allied People’s Defense Force (PDF) seized control of two rare earth mining towns this week in northeastern Kachin State near the China border.
The KIA and PDF captured Tsawlaw town, located 120 miles (193 km) northeast of the Kachin State capital Myitkyina, on Wednesday, sources close to the military told DVB.
The seizure of the town came three days after the KIA and PDF captured Chipwi, another center of valuable rare earth mining, located south of Tsawlaw. Local media reported that retaliatory airstrikes conducted by the Myanmar Air Force caused an unknown number of civilian casualties in Chipwi.
“About two-thirds of the locals have fled now. Some have taken refuge in villages far from the town, while others remain in Chipwi—mostly the elderly and those who are unable to flee,” a Chipwi resident told DVB.
The fighting and closure of roads in the town has caused the price of goods to skyrocket and shortages of essential commodities, she added. Most residents of Tsawlaw and Chipwi have not returned to their homes since the KIA and PDF launched an offensive to capture both towns on Sept. 29.
“They could also take control over rare earth mineral mining… the main goal is to cut off the financial resources of the Pangwa militia”
Than Soe Naing, a political analyst
Tsawlaw and Chipwi are located in the Kachin Special Region 1 in northeastern Kachin State, which is administered by the pro-military Kachin Border Guard Force (BGF). The Kachin BGF was formed in 2009 when the New Democratic Army – Kachin, an ethnic armed group that broke away from the Communist Party of Burma in 1989, agreed to come under the military’s chain of command.
“They [KIA] could also take control over rare earth mineral mining operations in the area. I believe the main goal is to cut off the financial resources of the Pangwa militia [Kachin BGF],” Than Soe Naing, a political analyst, told DVB.
Much of Myanmar’s lucrative rare earth minerals are extracted from mines that are operated by the Kachin BGF. Rare earth elements are vital components used in electronics – including batteries, cameras, computer chips – as well as glass and magnets.
China imported over 40,000 tons of rare earth minerals from Myanmar in 2023, according to the country’s General Administration of Customs.
Myanmar’s rare earth mining trade was worth $1.4 billion USD last year, according to Global Witness, a human rights organization that investigates abuses linked to natural resource exploitation. The number of mining sites in the Kachin Special Region 1 increased by 40 percent since the military coup took place on Feb. 1, 2021, according to the group.
Kachin residents and activists have urged the KIA to prevent rare earth mineral mining in the state due its destructive impact on the environment.
The Chinese Embassy in Yangon has not responded to DVB’s request for comment regarding the fighting in the area near the Myanmar-China border.
Zahkung Ting Ying, the 84-year-old chief of the Kachin Special Region 1, directed the BGF and militias to “implement strict defense measures” last June in anticipation of the KIA offensive. KIA General Sumlut Gun Maw said the order “should not have been issued.”
The KIA has seized control of 12 towns in Kachin and northern Shan states, as well as Sagaing Region, since last year. It launched a major offensive across Kachin State on March 7.
