The battle for Myanmar’s lucrative jade mining hub intensified on Monday and Tuesday as junta troops torched Tar Ma Khan village and shelled nearby Hpakant town in Kachin State, according to residents.
The attacks occurred amid heavy clashes between regime troops and combined forces of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and People’s Defense Force (PDF).
Fighting is centered on the junta’s last major hilltop outpost near Tar Ma Khan village. At stake is control of Hpakant Township, the heart of Myanmar’s lucrative jade industry. About 70 percent of the world’s supply of jadeite comes from Myanmar, according to estimates.
Junta reinforcements from neighboring Homalin Township and the allied Shanni Nationalities Army (SNA) raided Tar Ma Khan village on Monday and Tuesday, according to residents and resistance groups.
“They burned down houses in the village and we are now chasing them and fighting them,” said a member of the Kachin People’s Defense Force (KPDF).
KPDF sources claim junta troops have suffered heavy losses in the battle for the jade hub.
The KIA and its allies launched the Tar Ma Khan offensive in late February and the junta is also doing all it can to defend its last foothold in the Kachin jade mining hub.
The resistance allies say they are attacking around 60 junta and SNA troops stationed in the Tar Ma Khan monastery.
Junta shells tore through houses in Hpakant town at around 9 am on Monday, but there were no reports of civilian casualties.
Regime forces also shelled nearby Saing Taung village on Friday, severely injuring internally displaced people who were sheltering there.
