Kachin Independence Army (KIA) troops pushed back Burmese Army forces from the KIA’s Laiza headquarters on Thursday, seizing many small arms as well as field artillery, according to frontline sources.
Almost all government military columns operating in the N’tap Bum mountain range, about 8 miles southwest of Laiza headquarters in eastern Kachin State, were forced back, said KIA officers speaking from headquarters.
Frontline KIA officers also claimed that Burmese soldiers fled from the strategic mountain range in disarray, discarding many of their weapons.
A KIA officer at the front told the Kachin News Group, “We were able to push most Burmese troops out of the mountain range today. We seized weapons from the government soldiers but small numbers of them remain in the hills”.
A resident of Laiza, speaking on Thursday afternoon, said that those living in the KIA headquarters town were able to take a breather from the 24-hour alert status when they heard that the threat so close by had receded.
For KIA forces, the weapons tally represented largest amount seized in the hills so far during the five-month old war, according to frontline officers.
One resident of Laiza said he saw captured mortar rounds and small arms in Laiza this morning, which had been brought there by KIA troops.
About 1,000 Burmese troops had been positioned on the N’tap Bum since mid-October in order to capture the Laiza headquarters.
Unsubstantiated reports claim that Kachin soldiers fell ill from smoke inhalation when artillery shells fired at their positions landed nearby.
Government forces have made three attempts at seizing the strategic mountain range but have yet to succeed. Should they accomplish this objective, the fate of Laiza might hang in the balance, KIA officers noted.
