Daily fighting continues around key junta battalions in Bhamo Town, Kachin State, following an escalation of operations by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in the area.

The KIA has been attempting to capture Bhamo, the second-largest town in Kachin State and the administrative seat of Bhamo Township, for over a year. Fighting flared again on Christmas Day last year, and daily clashes have continued since, KIA spokesperson Colonel Naw Bu said.

“The clashes on January 15 were a bit more intense than usual. The fighting in Bhamo doesn’t stay in one place, it moves around every day. In fact, almost every major military site within a 20-mile radius of Bhamo Town has seen fighting,” he told KNG.

Fighting occurs almost daily around the junta’s key military positions, including Military Operations Command 21 (MOC 21) and Infantry Battalion 47 (IB 47). The junta’s Logistics Battalion 933 (LB 933) has also become a frequent hotspot for clashes.

KIA frontline sources reported that the KIA-led resistance coalition is pressing its attack on LB 933 and is gaining the upper hand.

“The fighting is currently focused around LB 933. The base hasn’t been fully captured yet, and the KIA is still carrying out operations there. As for MOC 21, we’ve received reports that our forces are seeing positive results,” a KIA source said.

LB 933 is located on the road connecting Bhamo and Momauk, another town in Kachin State.

In the clashes over the past few days, the KIA has captured around 20 junta troops as prisoners of war (PoWs).

The KIA, in collaboration with its ally the People’s Defence Force (PDF), launched an ambitious offensive to capture Bhamo Town in December 2024. Coinciding with the one-year anniversary of that operation, the KIA has once again intensified its attacks.

Although the KIA’s goal of capturing Bhamo has not yet been achieved and the fighting has continued into 2026, it remains actively engaged in the combat.

By mid-2025, the KIA had seized control of most of Bhamo Town, including several of the junta’s key positions. However, in July, the junta deployed a large number of reinforcements to Bhamo and launched a series of airstrikes to support a major counteroffensive, forcing the KIA to withdraw from some of the areas it had previously held.

The battle for Bhamo has become the longest-running operation the KIA has conducted in Kachin State since the junta’s 2021 coup.