The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and allied Kachin People’s Defense Forces (KPDF) seized a key military junta base near gold mining and opium growing areas in Kachin State’s Tanai Township on Sunday.
The junta base was making a lot of money from gold mining and opium farming, the KIA said.
Troops of KIA Brigade 2 and the KPDF captured the regime base in Dalu Village near Kachin’s border with Sagaing Region after two days of fighting. KIA spokesperson Naw Bu confirmed the seizure but declined to provide details on casualties or the quantity of arms and ammunition seized.
The Dalu base is in a strategically important location for the military junta, which has been bringing arms and ammunition into Kachin from Sagaing along the Chindwin River, which flows through Tanai, said Naw Bu.
“We don’t know the death toll, or the amount of arms and ammunition that we gained from there. Mobile phone and internet services are shut down in that area. We still don’t have that data,” he said.
A military fighter jet bombed the base twice on Sunday after the KIA seized it.
Near the Dalu base there are many gold mines that earned money for the military regime, and in areas near the Sagaing-Kachin border there are opium fields that also generated income for the junta, Naw Bu said.
“That’s why the military junta is very serious about controlling that area,” he added.
On Sunday, KIA forces also burned down a military camp near Nanhai Village in the Karmai area of Hpakant Township that was abandoned by regime forces on Jan. 26.
The KIA has been attacking and occupying military junta bases in Kachin State and northern Shan one by one since mid-December, while the Brotherhood Alliance of three ethnic armies are currently observing a ceasefire with the military junta in northern Shan State.
In Kachin, the KIA has attacked and captured military bases in Mansi, Hpakan and Waingmaw townships and at least eight junta positions in Kutkai, Nam Hpat Kar, Mongmit and Mabein in northern Shan State since launching its offensive on Dec. 20.
On Monday, the KIA also seized another junta base in Mansi Township after two days of attacks.
