People in the Kachin State capital of Myitkyina in northern Burma have been without electricity for a week since power supply lines to the Kachin Independence Organization’s (KIO) territory was destroyed by the Burmese Army, said KIO officials.
The power supply cables were deliberately destroyed by the Burmese Army’s artillery fire in Ga Ra Yang Village on October 1 at about 4 p.m. local time by Burmese troops during their military offensive against the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) under the KIO, reported KIO officials.
La Gun, an eyewitness and People’s Army commander under the KIA in the Ga Ra Yang battle zone told Kachin News Group, “They [Burmese troops] intentionally damaged power poles between Lung Zep Kawng and Ga Ra Yang with artillery fire. They pretended as though the power poles were accidentally destroyed during the fighting the KIA, when actually it was deliberate”.
The government has branded KIO a terrorist group, added La Gun.
On June 12, the KIO ordered the complete closure of its liaison office and the Buga Co. Ltd. office in Myitkyina for reasons of security, but the power supply was unaffected to Myitkyina and Waingmaw.
Operated by KIO’s Buga Co. Ltd., the Mali power plant has been supplying 2.4 MW of electricity daily to Myitkyina and Wiangmaw since July 2006, according to a KIO report. When the plant is fully operational, it can produce 10.5 MW of electricity, said the report.
The Buga Company has not been able to repair the damaged electric poles as the fighting in the area continues.
