Two civilians were killed when the Burma army fired artillery into a civilian ward of Laiza town from a nearby mountain camp, according to local sources. Laiza is the headquarters of Kachin Independence Organization / Kachin Independence Army (KIO/KIA).
The morning of 7 March saw the KIA and its allies launch intense coordinated attacks on multiple Burma army camps near Laiza town and along the Myitkyina–Bhamo highway.
In response, Burma army soldiers based at the Hkaya Bum, Bum Ye Bum, and Hpun Pyen Bum mountain camps attacked Laiza town with indiscriminate artillery fire. The shelling killed a mother and her child on the spot.
“The Burma army attacked Laiza with artillery from their mountain camps. A shell killed a mother and her child when it hit their house located between Woichai ward and Mung Lai Hkyet village. I think the shell that killed them was fired from Hpun Pyen Bum mountain camp,” a local man, who spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons, told KNG.
The shelling injured another local person who was traveling between Woichai ward and Mung Lai Hkyet village by motorcycle.
“The shelling also injured someone who was traveling on the road from Woichai ward to Mung Lai Hkyet,” the local man said, adding “I do not know the names of the two deceased or the injured individual.”
Following the armed clashes and artillery fire, some residents Laiza town fled to safer areas.
“I do not know the exact number of civilian causalities in Laiza. We were rushing to flee the area. Now we are moving elderly people to safer areas,” another local man, who lives in Laiza town, told KNG.
The KIA and its allied troops attacked multiple Burma army military camps since the morning of 7 March, including Shwe Nyaung Pin Infantry Battalion 321, Hkaya Bum mountain camp, Bum Ye Bum mountain camp, and Myo Thit and Kunglaw military camps.
