The Tatmadaw fired five shells at the Kachin Independence Organisation’s (KIO) Laiza headquarters in Kachin State from military bases based on top of Bum Ray Bum and Hkaya Bum.
”I heard artillery fire from Hkaya Bum, but I don’t know if the shells actually hit Laiza,” a local who lives near the mountain told KNG.
However, residents in Laiza confirmed that the shells, which were fired between 9:30pm and 10:30pm on Wednesday 15 September, hit the KIO stronghold. They didn’t say if anyone was hurt or if they caused damage to any of the properties in the town in Kachin State located next to China.
The attack came shortly after Tatmadaw soldiers fired indiscriminately from the 21 Mile checkpoint in Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State, at 8pm, apparently fearing that the KIO’s military wing, Kachin Independence Army (KIA), would attack them. Locals from Mayan village later spotted two military planes flying over the checkpoint.
The KIA did attack Tatmadaw troops near Ta Hket at around 6pm the same day. The village is located between the towns of Tanai and Shin Bway Yang in Kachin State.
According to a resident from Ta Hket, the KIA attacked 200 Burma Army (BA) soldiers with a landmine. “The KIA ambushed the military column and then BA and KIA engaged in an exchange of fire with small and heavy weapons,” he said. The man couldn’t provide any details about the number of casualties.
Since 7 September, fighting has been recurrent on the Tanai-Shin Bway Yang road.
Fighting has been ongoing in Kachin and northern Shan states since the coup just over eight months ago, adding to the number of villagers displaced during the conflict that’s lasted for more than 10 years.
