The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) captured the junta’s Infantry Battalion (IB) 298 base and took complete control of Hsawlaw Town in Chipwi District, Kachin State on 2 October, after four days of fighting.

The KIA launched a renewed offensive against the IB 298 base in Hsawlaw Township, about 200 metres outside Hsawlaw Town, on 29 September and fully captured it and Hsawlaw Town on 2 October, according to a KIA frontline source.

He said: “They [the KIA] fought a four-day battle for Hsawlaw. They completely captured it around 7:00 am today [2 October]. Hsawlaw has been completely captured. There are no remaining junta forces in the area.”

According to initial reports from the KIA, they seized many weapons and much ammunition and many junta soldiers were killed during the fighting, though they were unable to give any further details.

IB 298 controlled all of Hsawlaw Township and provided essential security for the junta in the border region.

There are no longer any junta soldiers, Border Guard Forces (BGF) fighters or members of junta-aligned militias left in Hsawlaw Township which is predominantly inhabited by ethnic Lhaovo, Lachid, and Lisu people.

Hsawlaw Township is in Chipwi District, an area that is controlled by the junta-aligned New Democratic Army Kachin (NDA-K) Border Guard Force (BGF) which also controls most of the many rare earth mining operations located in Chipwi District.

The NDA-K was formed by a former KIA commander, Zahkung Ting Ying (a.k.a. S’Khon Tein Yein), an ethnic Lachik, when he split from the KIA in 1989. He later established Kachin State Special Region No. 1 which the NDA-K controls. It is based in Pangwa Town in Chipwi Township, near the Chinese border.

The KIA already captured Chipwi Town on 29 September 2024. Analysts believe that the KIA’s next target in the area will be Pangwa Town and the surrounding areas, where there are also many rare earth mining operations.