Over the past week, fighting has continued in Bhamo, Waingmaw, Hpakant, and Indawgyi townships in Kachin State between the junta and the resistance coalition led by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA).

The clashes in Bhamo and Waingmaw were sparked by a KIA offensive, while in Hpakant and Indawgyi, the KIA conducted defensive operations against the junta and allied militias, said Colonel Naw Bu, spokesperson for the KIA and its political wing, the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO).

“Fighting in Bhamo has been happening every day over the past week, and it’s also going on in Waingmaw and Hpakant. The situation is the same in Indawgyi, so, all four areas are seeing clashes at the same time. In Hpakant and Indawgyi, our troops are holding off attacks from the junta and the Shanni Nationalities Army (SNA),” he told KNG.

In Hpakant, prolonged fighting began on January 30, 2025, when junta troops attempted to penetrate KIA-controlled areas. The KIA and allied resistance groups have been fiercely resisting the junta's offensive in Hpakant, with fighting over the past week causing casualties among junta forces, KIA frontline sources said.

On February 4, the junta carried out airstrikes with both fighter jets and Y-12 utility aircraft in key clash areas. On February 5, the KIA-led coalition captured a drone jammer from the junta. During the fighting that day, a deputy column leader of the junta was fatally wounded in the abdomen by artillery shrapnel, according to KIA frontline sources.

The KIA has been engaged in fierce fighting against the junta and allied militias along the route linking Hpakant and Indawgyi townships for about a week. The fighting was sparked by the junta and militias launching an offensive to capture KIA-controlled villages east of Indawgyi Township along the highway.

The KIA has recaptured several villages, including Longton and Hepu in Indawgyi Township, which were lost in 2025, as well as multiple frontline encampments.

Fighting has occasionally erupted between the junta and the KIA since 2025 over full control of the Hpakant-Indawgyi route, commonly called the Gwaykhar Road.

Fighting broke out in late January in Waingmaw Township when the junta and Lisu militia groups launched an offensive north of KIA-controlled Lamyan Village. On February 3 and 4, clashes intensified significantly, with the KIA capturing four junta and militia checkpoints between Mongnar and Mongnar villages in Waingmaw Township.

After losing these checkpoints, the junta carried out an airstrike on nearby Shwenyaung Village on February 4, causing extensive damage.

Fighting has also continued in Bhamo Township for over a year, starting when the KIA launched an offensive to capture Bhamo, the second-largest city in Kachin State. In Bhamo, control of territory has shifted back and forth between the junta and the KIA, forming a recurring cycle of clashes, according to KIA frontline sources. In Bhamo Township, the fighting is spreading across three or four locations.

The junta has also significantly stepped up its use of airstrikes during combat in Bhamo, Waingmaw, Hpakant, and Indawgyi townships.