The junta forces has reportedly destroyed the home of a relative of an officer of the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO), whose armed wing, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), is fighting the dictatorship.

A man living in Myitkyina Township has told KNG that Burma Army (BA) soldiers used a backhoe to take down the house in Ubyit, Kachin State, on Wednesday morning after 50 soldiers arrived in the village in three trucks. “The house owner is related to one of the KIO officers arrested by the BA in a KTV in Myitkyina,” the man said.

On 12 November, the BA arrested 13 KIO officers at the Happy KTV in Tat Kon Ward, Myitkyina town. After that, the army raided homes in the Kachin State capital and arrested more people. And on Tuesday, they looted homes in Ubyit and stole gold jewellery, money and other valuables.

Since the coup, fighting with the KIA has increased in Kachin and Shan states, where the Kachin armed group has trained some of the People’s Defence Forces to fight the regime.

Last month, BA jet fighters bombed a concert marking the 62nd anniversary of the KIO, killing scores of attendees including senior military officers and regular soldiers, in A Nang Pa in Hpakant Township.