The military junta is conducting relentless airstrikes to prevent the Border Guard Force Battalion 1002, located in Lu Pyi (locally known as Lauk Pae), the nearest village to Pang War town in Kachin State, according to residents of Pang War.
A man living near Pang War town said, “From around 9am on 10 October until midnight, a Y-12 plane continuously fired at the battle area.”
He added, “The plane started firing at around 11pm China Time last night. They fired all night long, until 12:10am. They dropped no fewer than 30 bombs.”
The fighting along the Chipwi-Pang War road between the junta-controlled Border Guard Force militia and joint Kachin Independence Army (KIA) forces began after the capture of Chipwi and Tsawlaw towns by the KIA and allied forces.
Lu Pyi village, where the current battle is taking place, is located about 10 miles from Pang War town. The village is primarily inhabited by the Lisu ethnic group and has about 200 households.
Moreover, Battalion 1002 is the frontline junta-controlled battalion defending Pang War town, where the Kachin Special Region-1 Headquarters is located. Local residents also refer to it as the garrison battalion.
The militia and battalions under the Border Guard Force are: Battalion 1001 located at Na Zun Bote village between Chipwi and Phimaw towns, Battalion 1003 located at Sin Kyaing village along the Waingmaw-Kan Paik Ti road, and Battalion 1002 located in the current battle location near Pang War.
Due to the intense fighting between the joint KIA forces and the militia in Lu Pyi village since 10 October, all local civilians have fled to Pang War. A local woman from Pang War said, “We heard that hundreds of displaced residents from Lu Pyay have already arrived in Pang War. The fighting has calmed down for now.”
Tensions escalated between the junta-controlled militia and joint KIA forces along the Chipwi-Pang War road following the capture of Chipwi on 29 September and Tsawlaw on 30 September by the KIA and allied forces. This has led to fierce fighting near Pang War town.
As the fighting intensifies near the town, local residents say that the militia is also urgently recruiting new soldiers. Recently, they have been recruiting new soldiers in town guesthouses, restaurants, and mining areas, sending them to the front lines without military training, according to locals in Pang War.
Local residents say that after the junta’s combined checkpoint above War Shawng village and Sa Done town was captured by the militia under the BGF in June, they began recruiting soldiers within their controlled territory.
In the Kachin Special Region-1 controlled areas of Pang War and Chipwi, the BGF is primarily engaged in rare earth mining operations. Since the military coup, there has been a significant influx of young and middle-aged workers from various regions coming to work in these areas.
While the Pang War area hosts the majority of rare earth mining sites, locals report that phone top-up services have recently been banned within Pang War town. In Pang War, which primarily uses Chinese communication networks, locals speculate that this ban on phone top-up services by the BGF is a form of information control.
“We can’t top up our phones anymore. When asked why, they just say it’s what the higher-ups have ordered. We don’t know the exact reason,” says a resident of Pang War.
Pang War is a China-Myanmar border town located about 40 miles from Chipwi town. It is also the base for the Border Guard Force led by U Zahkung Ting Ying, a militia leader under the junta’s control.
Sent by KNG.