The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) reported heavy clashes in Kachin State’s Hpakant Township on Thursday morning following an ambush on regime forces the night before.
Col Naw Bu, the KIA’s information officer, said the battle continued through the morning and was expected to get worse amid ongoing tensions.
“The shooting has calmed down for now, but it hasn’t stopped completely. The situation is still tense,” he told Myanmar Now at around 1 pm on Thursday.
He added that no detailed casualty figures for the two sides were available, but confirmed that many local civilians had been injured or displaced by the conflict.
Local media outlets have reported that six civilians from the villages of Seng Hpra and Hkum Tsai Zup, located near the battlefield, were injured by heavy artillery used by military troops stationed in Nam Ya, another village in the area.
There were also reports that residents of Hkum Tsai Zup had taken shelter in a church in Seng Hpra amid fears that the military was about to launch airstrikes.
“We have received intelligence that many civilians have been displaced and are in a panic, as the military keeps hitting them with heavy weapons,” said Col Naw Bu.
The fighting is taking place in an area under the control of the KIA’s Brigade 9. KIA Battalion 44, which operates under Brigade 9, is the main unit engaged in the Hpakant clashes.
Earlier in the week, the KIA used landmines against a police vehicle carrying 10 regime troops in Yu Mar, another village in Hpakant Township.
That attack, which took place on Monday, came a day after the KIA mounted an assault on a base in Waingmaw Township and seized weapons from a militia group operating under the junta’s command.
The military has yet to release a statement regarding today’s fighting in Kachin State.
