Junta and Kachin Independence Army (KIA) troops clashed in two townships—Kutkai and Hsenwi— of northern Shan State on Wednesday, where Myanmar’s military is engaged in fierce fighting with the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA).
The KIA ambushed a junta convoy of 18 vehicles driving from Lashio Town, where the junta’s military’s Northeastern Command is based, near Manbyein Village in Kutkai Township at about 3pm on Wednesday. The fighting lasted for more than 30 minutes.
Five junta soldiers were killed and a junta vehicle was damaged in the ambush, a KIA fighter told The Irrawaddy.
“One military vehicle was hit by our mortar fire. The engine was hit and it could not move. I can confirm that five died on the junta’s side. They towed the damaged vehicle [away] at around 6 pm,” the KIA source said.
The Irrawaddy could not independently confirm his account.
The junta convoy then entered Kutkai Town—its tactical command center in the area—before departing towards Muse Town on Thursday.
Military tensions remain high between junta troops and the TNLA in Muse Township. Muse Town is a major trade town on the Myanmar-China border.
Junta troops and KIA also clashed on Wednesday near Kunkauk Village, about 16km from Hseinwi on the road to Chin Shwe Haw, another major trade town on the border with China.
A Kunkauk resident told The Irrawaddy on Thursday: “The military fired shells at KIA troops after they left the village and went to a mountain. I heard the exchange of fire on Wednesday night. It was far from the village.”
Junta attacks on October 6 forced over 1,000 residents from five villages in Kunkauk village tract to flee their homes to farms and Homein Monastery in Hsenwi. Five houses and a monastery were hit by artillery strikes in Kunkauk Village. One pregnant woman was injured by the shelling, local residents said.
Over 260 people who were taking shelter at Homein Monastery returned to their homes on Thursday after junta and KIA troops left their villages, local residents said.
More than 300 cargo trucks carrying imports from China through Chin Shwe Haw border checkpoint resumed their trips on Wednesday morning after being trapped by fighting near Namsaluk Village in Hsenwi Township.
Junta troops and TNLA have been engaged in fierce fighting since July in northern Shan State. Fighting between junta troops and the KIA in the area erupted early this month.
