The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and allied resistance forces seized three more junta military battalion headquarters on Saturday and Sunday, according to the KIA, the Kachin People’s Defense Force (KPDF) and other resistance organizations.
All regime forces based at Infantry Battalion 121’s headquarters in Mai Khong Village, Mansi Township, including the entire Infantry Battalion 47, abandoned their positions in the middle of the night on Saturday.
As a result, the KIA and its allies were able to seize the headquarters without firing a shot the next day.
In Nawng Kawn Village in Momauk Township, the allied resistance forces also seized the junta’s Artillery Battalion 370 after intense clashes.
Infantry Battalion 121 was commanded by Colonel Thant Zin Ko Ko, and over 50 troops were stationed at its HQ. However, after the KIA and its allies approached and took up positions surrounding it on Saturday, the commander and his whole battalion fled into the jungle.
Infantry Battalion 121 was based in Mansi Township for over a decade and would frequently conduct inspections and arrest local residents.
“We have continued chasing the fleeing junta military troops into the jungle in Momauk and Mansi townships and clashes continued today,” said a KPDF officer on the ground in Momauk.
In addition to the battalion bases, the KIA and its allies also seized at least two other important outposts in Mansi Township on March 24. The Lwal Khan strategic outpost, which was led by a Tactical Operations Commander and had 150 troops, and Dawtenkhan outpost were abandoned at 1 a.m. on March 24, so the KIA and its allies were able to seize them easily as well.
Experts monitoring the current KIA offensive in Kachin State said the armed group and its allies are getting closer to seizing control of towns in the state. Hpakant, Momauk and Mansi are the most vulnerable to being seized, they said.
Since the offensive began on March 7, the KIA and its allies have seized over 40 military positions including at least seven battalion bases from the junta’s military in Sumprabum, Waingmaw, Momauk and Mansi townships.
