The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) killed an unknown number of regime forces, sending two military vehicles tumbling into the gorge of a river during an ambush on its convoy near Putao last week.

According to a villager familiar with the incident, who requested anonymity, the Burma Army (BA), which was coming from Sumprabum, was attacked for ten minutes near Tan Ja, about 40 miles outside Putao northern Kachin State.

A traveller who requested anonymity said: “I heard that one of the drivers was killed when the trucks crashed into the ravine... They are trying to lift the trucks out with a crane.” The man suspects that some BA soldiers were injured because there were traces of blood at the clash site, where fifty soldiers have remained during the rescue operation.

Others told NMG they couldn't get close  enough to the site of the clash to determine if the regime has suffered casualties due to the presence of the soldiers in the area.

“The road is blocked and no vehicle is allowed to go anywhere. We cannot go forward or back,” said a man driving from Myitkyina to Putao.

The KIA attacked the fifty-vehicle convoy carrying reinforcement troops and rations with rifle fire and artillery shelling. Since it left the Kachin State capital on 11 May, the KIA  has attacked it at Nam Hkam, Sup Hker and Mai Htawng.

Last week, the regime suspended MPT and Mytel telecommunications services correlating with a troop build-up in Putao, raising fears among locals that the regime was planning an offensive in the area.