A junta column of roughly 100 troops, departing from Namya Village along the Myitkyina-Hpakant Road in Kachin State, is marching toward Hpakant Town, the region's jade mining hub.

The column set out on August 21 to bolster junta forces in Hpakant Town, a source close to the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), which is fighting the junta, said.

“The column, made up of about 100 soldiers, is still moving toward Hpakant,” he told MNJ.

Additionally, another junta column of roughly 100 troops has stationed itself at the dam near Maaupin Village in Hpakant Township.

These two junta columns reportedly belong to Military Operations Command 3 (MOC 3) based in Mogaung Town, Kachin State, and are said to have arrived at Namya Village on August 20, though this has not been independently confirmed.

On August 11, clashes erupted between junta troops advancing toward Hpakant and the KIA near Kyaukhtu Village, within the Namya Village Tract.

Junta troops, who advanced along the Myitkyina-Hpakant Road and entered Hpakant Township in late May, have been roaming the township’s jade mining areas ever since.

After the junta reestablished a foothold in Hpakant Township, frequent clashes with the KIA followed, and artillery shelling by the junta targeting residential areas resulted in civilian casualties.