The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the People’s Defence Force (PDF) seized weapons from the Burma Army (BA) and the Shanni Nationalities Army (SNA) after capturing their camps in Hpakant Township, Kachin State.
”I heard that 10 SNA soldiers and some BA soldiers were killed in the clashes,” a man close to the KIA told KNG on condition of anonymity about the 8 August attack.
KIA Battalion 26 and PDF attacked the BA camp on Sel Kon hill near Sel Zin and the SNA camp near Shwe Pyi Myint, capturing one M-23, three AK and one M-16 rifle, as well as over 1,000 rounds of ammunition from the Shanni camp and two cars full of weapons from the BA camp.
On the same day, the groups attacked the Sel Zin police station at noon.
An anonymous villager said that the KIA had been planning to attack the SNA for some time, but instead attacked BA soldiers who were on their way from Tamakhan to Sel Zin in July, and that fighting has been frequent in Hpakant ever since.
Tayok Gyi, 34, was killed by SNA shelling in Sel Zin on Tuesday. The man is survived by his wife, Thinn Thin.
