The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) seized a Myanmar military outpost near the Chinese border early on Thursday morning, the latest in a series of skirmishes between the two sides since last month’s coup.
The KIA seized the base in the Alaw Buam area of Dawphoneyan, southern Kachin state, at around 4am after 11 hours of fighting, said Colonel Naw Bu, a spokesperson for the group.
He was unable to confirm reports that the Tatmadaw had suffered casualties and that the KIA had arrested a battalion commander. “So far they have not informed me about casualties,” he told Myanmar Now.
There are still tensions in Dawphoneyan as well as in Waingmaw township, he added.
On Monday night the Tatmadaw attacked a KIA post in Waingmaw with heavy artillery, and the KIA responded with an offensive aimed at seizing a nearby Tatmadaw base.
The next day, Tatmadaw soldiers fired heavy artillery at a post controlled by the KIA’s battalion No 3 in Sa Done township.
The two sides have clashed at least seven times this month, with skirmishes reported in Mogaung, Hpakant, and Myitkyina townships.
The fighting began in northern Shan state last month in territory controlled by KIA Brigades 4, 6 and 10, before spreading across the border into Kachin.
