The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) torched a police compound in Hpakant Township, Kachin State, an officer of the KIA’s political wing, Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO), told KNG on condition that his name not be mentioned.
A local source said no one was staying on the land at Kawng San village when the Kachin soldiers set it on fire at around 9pm on Saturday, 21 August. He explained that the land used to belong to a jade mining company and after the company moved away, the police built a station and their living quarters there.
According to locals, up to 30 policemen were staying in the huts that the KIA destroyed. Before the attack, they were summoned to a military camp in another area.
When asked by KNG, the KIO spokesperson Col Naw Bu couldn’t confirm whether KIA soldiers were responsible for the attack.
The regime has cut off internet services in the township since last Saturday where the KIA has been fighting with the military since the February 1 coup.