The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) has yet to retake military positions around Bhamo Town in Kachin State, but intense clashes continue in five key areas, according to KIA.
“There haven’t been any new captures of military bases in Bhamo. But fighting remains intense around the central wards, near Win Light Hotel, Myitsone Hotel, and various office compounds. Daily clashes are also reported around Bhamo University and Minhla Ward,” said Colonel Naw Bu, spokesperson for the KIA.
Although reports suggest the KIA was forced to withdraw from the Artillery Battalion 366 base recently, which it had previously captured from the junta, Colonel Naw Bu said it remains difficult to verify the exact situation on the ground.
Fighting has intensified since early August, after a junta reinforcement flotilla successfully reached Bhamo Town, the second-largest settlement in Kachin State, which the KIA is attempting to capture.
In particular, since the flotilla’s arrival, junta troops have carried out more effective and widespread operations using suicide drones around Bhamo, according to KIA sources.
The KIA and allied groups had captured Artillery Battalion 366 and Bhamo Airport earlier this year, but reports say they were forced to withdraw from both last week.
To prevent the fall of Bhamo Town, the junta dispatched a flotilla in two batches carrying troops, supplies, weapons, and ammunition, which successfully arrived at their destinations on July 17 and 22, respectively. Around 20 vessels sailed upstream along the Ayeyarwady River and eventually managed to dock at Bhamo.
Reinforced by the flotilla’s troops and supplies, junta forces in the town were able to intensify their efforts to retake the territories they had lost.
A Kachin military analyst said that during the current rainy season, the KIA is likely to struggle to recapture areas lost to the junta’s renewed offensive.
“The junta managed to send in the reinforcement flotilla even during the rainy season, which allowed its troops to launch a counteroffensive. While the rain may have worked in its favor, it made things harder for the KIA. Bhamo has lowland areas, so flooding makes it difficult for the KIA to dig trenches. The junta likely knew this, which is probably why it carried out operations during the rainy season. It also targeted KIA troops in houses with air raids, causing setbacks for the KIA, including the loss of strategic positions like the airport,” he elaborated.
Predictions also suggest that the military situation in Bhamo could intensify around October, when the rainy season ends.
Fighting in Bhamo has been ongoing for more than eight months, ever since the KIA launched an ambitious military campaign to capture the town.
