JAKARTA - The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) attacked two Myanmar military bases in northern Shan State on Thursday afternoon local time, the ethnic armed spokesman said.
KIA information officer Colonel Naw Bu told Myanmar Now as reported Friday 30 July, Kachin troops fired heavy artillery at junta military posts near two bridges, Nam Hkaing on the Union highway between Kutkai and Namphetka, and Nam Paw, between Namphetka and Muse.
"Fighting has broken out in many places lately. Fighting has also broken out in the Mong Ko area," Colonel Naw Bu said, referring to the town of Muse Township on the Shan-China border, adding that the casualty toll could not be confirmed at this time.
The Nam Hkaing Bridge is about 10 miles north of Kutkai and is a connecting point on the Lashio-Muse section of the Union highway.
A woman who lives in the Hokho internally displaced persons camp, in Mong Yu Lay village near the Nam Hkaing bridge said she heard artillery fire for about an hour, starting at 11 a.m.
"Because it was so close to us, we could hear explosions. Out of fear, we didn't dare go outside to see what was happening," he said.
A Myanmar military regime base near Kutkai Town fired retaliatory artillery shells at a base belonging to the KIA 9th Battalion under Brigade 6. Another Kutkai-based Myanmar military unit joined the shooting, according to a Kutkai resident.
The fighting took place in an area where the KIA ninth battalion was active. There were frequent clashes between KIA and the junta troops along the Lashio-Muse highway. In addition, Mong Ko also often saw the fighting between the Kokang ethnic Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army and the Myanmar military.
Since the February 1 military coup, fierce fighting has occurred between the KIA and the junta's armed forces in northern Shan State and in neighboring Kachin State.
KIA, in collaboration with the local People's Defense Forces (PDF), has also been fighting junta forces in the townships of Kawlin, Katha and Htigyaing in the upper Sagaing Region.
On Monday afternoon, KIA intercepted and attacked seven naval vessels belonging to the junta on the Irrawaddy River near Shwegu in Kachin State.
Prior to the coup, KIA was not among the ethnic armed organizations that signed the National Armistice Agreements with the government and military, but had been involved in initial peace talks with the administration of the National League for Democracy.
In February, after the military attempted to seize power in Myanmar, KIA announced it would protect anti-coup protesters in Kachin State and welcomed the resistance movement.
The Myanmar Coup. VOI editors continue to monitor the political situation in one of the ASEAN member countries. Civilian casualties continued to fall. Readers can follow news about the Myanmar military coup by tapping this link.
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