The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) has captured another junta position in Bhamo, a district-level town in Kachin State where the armed group has been fighting for two months.
The KIA and its allies seized Artillery Battalion 366 headquarters on Sunday evening, KIA spokesman Colonel Naw Bu told The Irrawaddy. He added that attacks continue on the nearby 21 Military Operations Command (MOC) headquarters.
“Fighting continues inside the 21 MOC,” said Naw Bu.
A junta defector Zin Yaw, a former captain, said Artillery Battalion 366 was one of the strongest junta positions in Bhamo, making the 21 MOC easier to capture.
He said: “When the 21 MOC falls, only Infantry Battalion 47 will be left. The KIA and its allies can use captured weapons and armored vehicles to fight the remaining troops. Once the MOC falls, the remaining bases will crumble rapidly.”
The KIA and its allies seized Bhamo’s airport and Armored Battalion 7006 in late January.
The remaining bases in the junta power hub are smaller, combat-support units where family members have been armed as auxiliary forces, said Zin Yaw.
Bhamo is second only to the capital Myitkyina in Kachin State and is close to the KIA’s Laiza headquarters. The regime has carried out several airstrikes on Laiza since the fighting broke out in Bhamo in December.
Bhamo, accessible by road and the Irrawaddy River, is now encircled, forcing the regime to use aircraft to resupply its troops.
The KIA and its allies attacked Bhamo and neighboring Mansi on December 4. Mansi fell after a month of fighting.
