The junta has intensified airstrikes in several areas under the control of the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) in Kachin State.

On February 20, a drone strike hit the airport in Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State, damaging a passenger plane. The junta blamed the attack on the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), the armed wing of the KIO and allied People’s Defence Force (PDF), and vowed a strong response.

The following day, February 21, at around 2:00 a.m., junta aircraft carried out three bombing raids on Sadon town in Waingmaw Township, Kachin State, locals reported.

The airstrikes caused no injuries among residents, but damaged several market stalls, houses and a hotel. The strikes targeted a site that had previously been hit in earlier air raids.

Locals said the hotel struck in the bombings was frequently used by KIA troops and suggested the junta may have carried out the attacks based on intelligence about their presence.

On the same day, the junta deployed jet fighters to drop four bombs on territory controlled by KIA Brigade 9 in Hpakant Township, Kachin State. Junta aircraft also flew over Laiza town, the KIA headquarters, and dropped bombs near Inbarpar Village.

“There has been heightened concern in recent days over the threat of airstrikes in KIA-controlled areas. KIA Vice Chief-of-Staff General Gun Maw recently said the junta appears eager to demonstrate a forceful response, which is why it has been deliberately carrying out bombing attacks. However, it doesn’t dare to strike KIA territories along the Chinese border, and has instead been dropping bombs in other areas such as Inbarpar, Inkhaungpar and Mansi,” said a KIA frontline source.

On February 22, junta aircraft bombed Bumkahtaung Village near Inkhaungpar Village, killing a 78-year-old elderly resident and destroying a house.

“Inkhaungpar has already been bombed twice in the past few days, but those attacks didn’t cause any casualties. Then, on the night of February 22, an airstrike struck nearby Bumkahtaung Village, killing an elderly man,” a local said.

On the night of February 22, the junta bombed the road between Wuyang and Warshawng villages in Waingmaw Township three times. The following day, February 23, it carried out an airstrike on Myothit Village in Momauk Township, Kachin State.

On January 22, the junta also launched an unprovoked airstrike on Kawngjar Village, located across the Ayeyarwady River from Bhamo and within KIA Brigade 8 territory, killing more than 50 civilians, including children.

Every year, mass civilian deaths occur in Kachin State as a result of junta airstrikes.

Fierce fighting is currently ongoing between the junta and the KIA in Bhamo, Waingmaw, and Hpakant townships in Kachin State.