After the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) inflicted mounting casualties on troops from the State Administration Council (SAC) during an assault on its camp in the Mungbaw area, the military regime launched an airstrike against the Kachin soldiers on Thursday.
“Our objective was to seize its Wingla hilltop,” a KIA frontline officer from its Battalion 36, under Brigade 6, told KNG. However, the Burma army deployed a jet fighter and a combat helicopter, conducting repeated attacks against the ethnic armed group after its 6 am offensive. The junta has also been shelling the KIA from its position in Mungbaw, located about eight miles away.
“Wingla mountain is the highest peak near Mungbaw, and they have established a heavily armed base in their camp to shell our area,” a Mungbaw resident told KNG.
The Burma army has maintained its camp on the strategic hilltop position between the towns of Mungbaw and Mungyar for over a decade.
The two armed groups had been facing off for three days before the fighting broke out.
Burma army troops frequently patrol the Kutkai – Namphetka – Muse road, which they also use to deploy fresh troops to Kutkai and Muse townships.
Fighting frequently occurs in northern Shan State, causing hardships for locals who are forced to flee and preventing them from working on their farms. For the last three months, civilian’s movement in the area has been restricted.
