30 Burmese Army soldiers were killed this in morning clashes with the Kachin Independence Army (KIA). The fighting occurred at three locations along the Muse-Nam Hkam-Manmaw (Bhamo) route in northern Kachin State, according to people in the area.
At least 10 were killed by the KIA’s Battalion 1 in a landmine explosion targeted at five military trucks traveling in convoy from Nam Hkam to Manwin, said residents of Nam Hkam, KNG was told.
Separately, at about 1 a.m., the KIA Battalion 1 forces ambushed a government military column near the Burmese Army’s Kai Htik outpost, killing over 20 government soldiers, said KIA officers from Battalion 1.
Skirmishes continue in the areas between the Shweli River Bridge and Nam Hkam, and in downtown Nam Hkam and Manwin, said people in both two towns.
There were casualties on the Burmese Army side in the fighting downtown but the exact figure could not be ascertained.
Units involved in the three classes included hundreds from the Meiktila-based Light Infantry Division (LID) No. 99 and Bago-based LID No. 77 and dozens of KIA soldiers from Battalions 1 and 27.
Since November, President Thein Sein’s government has sent in two army divisions from lower Burma to southern Kachin State to clear the Muse-Nam Hkam-Manmaw (Bhamo) route, which connects Kachin State and Shan State.
Till now, most sections of the route were under the control of the KIA, said local people.
