Heavy fighting has broken out in Bhamo town, Kachin State, as the junta launched a ground offensive, supported by airstrikes on the airport and Manau Park, where Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and allied resistance forces are positioned.
Fighting between the junta and KIA-led resistance forces has flared intermittently since September 20, a KIA frontline source told KNG.
“The clashes come and go, but they haven’t stopped. Right now, the junta is attacking KIA positions around the airport and Manau Park. Sometimes it attacks in the morning, sometimes in the evening, and it is also using artillery and airstrikes,” the source said. Manau Park is the town plaza where the Kachin ethnic group traditionally holds the Manau festival.
By midday on September 26, the junta had launched five airstrikes, while artillery barrages continued until around 3:00 pm.
When KNG reached out to the KIA frontline source by phone, the sound of artillery explosions could be heard in the background.
Despite the junta’s offensive and air attacks, the KIA is holding its positions and resisting fiercely.
“The junta is watching the battlefield around the clock with drones. If it spots anyone, it often uses suicide drones, or its aircraft come in immediately and attack,” the KIA source added.
The KIA and allied forces have been conducting an offensive to capture Bhamo Town, which has now been ongoing for about 10 months.
In early 2025, the KIA captured the bases of Armored Battalion 5014 and Infantry Battalion 236 in Bhamo Town, but lost control of them again in September.
After a junta supply flotilla arrived in Bhamo Town in two batches in July and August, its troops, reinforced and resupplied, began launching fierce counterattacks against the KIA that same August.
Although the KIA has been forced to retreat from some areas, it continues to resist the junta’s current offensive relentlessly.
In Kachin State, the junta is mounting offensives not only in Bhamo, but also in Khaunglanhpu Township, the Lang Se area of Tsawlaw Township, and Hpakant Township, famous for its jade, to regain territory it has lost.
