A Military Council vehicle convoy on its way to the Namsan Yang village area, has sustained numerous casualties after an attack by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), according to a local source.
“Three trucks from the military convoy were completely destroyed by fire, and other trucks also suffered damage,” said a resident of Dawt Hpung Yang, speaking on condition of anonymity. He said some of the convoy’s vehicles returned to the Infantry Battalion (IB) 142 base in the town located in Kachin State, carrying both deceased and wounded soldiers.
On Saturday, KIA’s Battalion 19, under Brigade 5, erected a roadblock to target the convoy of around twenty-five trucks approximately two miles north of Dawt Hpung Yang, near the village of Hkala Yang.
“The military convoy couldn’t proceed past Hkala Yang,” the man explained, adding that approximately ten trucks returned to Dawt Hpung Yang, where the convoy had been parked for about a week before the attack. Over the following days, six more trucks with broken windows returned to the town, while five departed from the base around the same time.
Regime soldiers, stationed atop Hanggai and Hpun Pyen mountains, bombarded KIA troops with artillery. However, the convoy was still unable to proceed on its route due to the roadblock.
The convoy had been dispatched to deliver food and soldiers to troops pinned down by KIA forces around Namsan Yang village, where the regime has been unsuccessful in capturing the area surrounding the Kachin group’s Laiza headquarters since launching its offensive in June.
In a desperate bid to recover from its failures in the region, the Military Council is deploying significant numbers of troops from Bhamo and Myitkyina. However, after two months, these soldiers still cannot enter the Namsan Yang area.
Due to the intense fighting along the road between Dawt Hpung Yang and Hkala Yang, locals have been unable to travel in the area.
