After intensified fighting in Bhamo Town, Bhamo Township, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) has decided to temporarily retreat from the site of the junta’s Artillery Battalion 366 (AB 366) base, according to Colonel Naw Bu, the KIA spokesperson.

Following the arrival of a junta flotilla that navigated upstream along the Ayeyarwady River to Bhamo Town, the junta stepped up its military operations in the area. In recent days, it has carried out artillery and drone attacks, as well as airstrikes, heightening tensions in the region, Colonel Naw Bu said.

“The junta has been carrying out airstrikes and drone attacks, and it has also sent in ground forces. It also launched artillery barrages. That’s why our troops at the captured artillery battalion base had to pull back temporarily. I can’t say exactly what’s happening on the ground right now,” he told MNJ.

After the junta increasingly relied on advanced battlefield technologies and intensified daily drone bombardments, the KIA was forced to retreat from the AB 366 base on August 10, a frontline source familiar with the situation said.

“After the junta stepped up the use of suicide drones, the KIA had to pull back from the captured base. It’s very likely that the junta is increasingly relying on advanced technologies on the battlefield,” he noted.

The KIA and its allied groups managed to capture AB 366 in February, but now they have had to retreat due to the junta’s intensified offensive.

Following the arrival of a junta flotilla bringing reinforcements and supplies to Bhamo in the first week of August, clashes in the area grew fiercer, eventually allowing the junta to retake AB 366.

Currently, both sides are positioned on opposite ends of the Bhamo Airport runway, and the military situation is extremely tense, the aforementioned source said.

The KIA launched an ambitious offensive on December 4, 2024, aiming to capture Bhamo Town, and after more than eight months, the battle is still raging.