The junta has launched airstrikes following intense clashes near Lamyan Village in Waingmaw Township, Kachin State, according to locals.
In March 2024, a Kachin Independence Army (KIA)-led resistance coalition launched operations in Waingmaw Township, capturing all junta positions in Waingmaw Town except the headquarters of Infantry Battalion 58 (IB 58), the junta-aligned Wuyang militia, and the local police station.
Since then, the junta and its allied militias have been locked in military tensions with KIA-led resistance forces around Lamyan and Wuyang villages in Waingmaw Township. Clashes erupted on August 25 and rapidly escalated.
“The fighting hasn’t stopped—it pauses sometimes, then starts again. We can hear explosions from bombs dropped by planes, and the sound of artillery is still echoing this evening. The clashes are really intense,” a Waingmaw Township resident said on August 26.
He added that between 7:00 am and 1:00 pm that day, the junta’s jet fighters conducted at least four bombing sorties.
KIA frontline sources reported that the junta has been sending reinforcements to the headquarters of IB-58 and the Wuyang militia group since April 23, with a previous offensive launching in June.
In June, the KIA was briefly pushed out of Lamyan Village by the junta’s offensive. However, in early July, they launched a counterattack and successfully recaptured the village.
Lamyan, Wuyang, and Motekyeik villages are situated along the Waingmaw-Chipwi-Sadone Highway. The fighting has sent artillery shells crashing into these villages, damaging numerous homes and forcing many residents to flee.
“In Lamyan, about 80 percent of the houses have been hit by bullets and shells. Both junta soldiers and KIA troops are taking cover inside the homes, firing at each other. The situation in the village is really bad,” said a Lamyan villager.
Meanwhile, junta troops stationed in Kachin State’s capital, Myitkyina City, are also shelling KIA positions in Waingmaw almost every night.
Currently, the junta is carrying out military operations not only in Waingmaw but also around the Myitsone area north of Myitkyina, in regions east of the Ayeyarwady River, and along the routes leading to Kachin State’s Hpakant Township.
