Over the last week the Burma army have been using Chinese Y-8 transport planes and motor vehicles to resupply the Nhka Ga area in northern Kachin state with rations and troops, say sources on the ground. Already there are more than 200 soldiers deployed to the region, one eye witness told the Kachin News Group (KNG) on condition of anonymity.
On Sept. 28, a Light Infantry Division 33 military convoy arrived at the government controlled town of Sumpyi Yang village near the Myitkyina to Putao highway. The village is close to Nhka Ga, separated by the Mali Hka river. The convoy was sent into the nearby jungles the following day, according to other eyewitnesses.
Information obtained by government sources based in Putao found that Asia World company, which is controlled by the family of the late drug lord Lo Hsing Han, recently applied for land permits in Putao district.
Asia World appears to be following the lead of a firm controlled by Tay Za that has also applied for a large mining permit in Putao, Machyangbaw and Nawng Mong townships; all located in Putao district.
Late last year, Tay Za and his firm Htoo Trading submitted a request for 600,000 acres of land in the Putao district, according to a source who saw the government application.
Residents in Putao tell KNG that Burma troops and a locally based pro-government Rawang militia led by Ahdang (also known as Danggu Tang) are conducting military offensives against KIA battalion 7 to secure this contested land.
