The Burma Army launched its most intense air strikes to date in the area of the Kachin Independence Organisation’s (KIO) headquarters on 7 October.
The KIO information officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Naw Bu, said that the Burma Army has been attacking the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) Mobile Battalion 252 at Lai Hpawng Bum and Nhkram Bum strongholds since August, but that the attack on 7 October was the fiercest so far.
He said: “Four jet fighters attacked the camps for nearly an hour from 8 am to 9 am today [7 October]. I have been told that two more jet fighters flew over and that Burma Army troops attacked the camp as well. You could say that it was the fiercest attack [so far] because four jet fighters were used. Today is also the 50th day since fighting broke out between the two armies in this area.”
He also said that the Burma Army used artillery and over 1,000 Burma Army and People’s Militia troops for the 7 October offensive.
However, the Burma Army has released no information about the offensive against the KIA. All it has said is that its troops have been securing their territory in Waingmaw Township.
Local residents said that the Burma Army and the KIA fought in Mansi Township, southern Kachin State on the morning of 7 October. Soldiers from the two armies have also been fighting on the road between Hpakant and Mogaung, said people living in the area.
On 6 October, the day before the renewed offensive, according to organisers’ estimates over 20,000 people protested in the Kachin State capital of Myitkyina against the Burma Army’s Kachin State offensives
Previously, on 3 October, thousands attended protests in Myitkyina and Tansai against the Burma Army’s Kachin offensive.
