A video of two Burma Army jet fighters using Chinese air space to attack the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) based on the strategic Alaw Bum (mountain) was shared on the WeChat social media network.
Burma Army attacked KIA Brigade 5 on Alaw Bum with jet fighters and artillery while using two light infantry battalions against Kachin soldiers at the base of the mountain on April 12.
At least five shells also landed on Chinese soil, according to Col Naw Bu, Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) spokesperson. At press time, it is unclear if they were any casualties.
KIA troops took out one of Burma Army light infantry battalions, the KIO spokesperson said.
Col Naw Bu said a second video of a jet fighter shot down that was shared on Facebook didn’t happen during the recent Burma Army offensive, suspecting it was from 2016 in Mong Koe.
KIA seized Alaw Bum from Burma Army on March 25, at about 4 am, after capturing camps at the base of the mountain a day earlier.
While KIA is attacking Burma Army across Kachin State, the military is focused on retaking the strategic mountaintop, located between KIO/A’s Laiza and Mai Ja Yang strongholds.
Burma Army took Alaw Bum, located in Momauk Township, from the Kachin ethnic armed organization in the early ’90s.
