On the morning of 8 October, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and allied force captured Lucky Men Hotel in Hseng Taung village in Hpakant Township of Kachin State, where miiltary council soldiers had been stationed.
Military sources on the ground said that more than 20 military council soldiers and Shanni soldiers surrendered following the takeover of the Lucky Men Hotel area.
A person close to the KIA said: “Yes. It has been captured. Yesterday, they (KIA) soldiers attacked them inside Lucky Men Hotel at close range. They shot them face to face.”
On the morning of 8 October, the KIA and allied forces launched an attack on junta soldiers inside Lucky Men Hotel in Hseng Taung, Hpakant Township, where intense fighting had been ongoing for nearly a month.
A source on the ground said: “A total of 22 soldiers were arrested alive. Among those arrested are Shanni soldiers. The junta suffered heavy losses. The junta soldiers withdrew to Brigade Hill. They were dressed in civilian clothing.”
Reports say that the military council suffered heavy losses and that some soldiers surrendered, but the details of the situation are not yet known.
After the capture, the KIA and allied forces are carrying out area clerance operaitons in Hseng Taung village and Lucky Men Hotel area, local residents said.
A local from Hseng Taung said: “Hseng Taung has been captured. Lucky Men Hotel has also been captured. They are carrying out area clerance operations there. They are stubborn and don’t withdraw. Now we are at risk of airstrike. Because the military council resorts to airstrike.”
In Hseng Taung region, a fierce battle between the military council and the KIA and allied forces began on 7 September. The military council was stationed at the Lucky Men Hotel and fought back. During over one month of fighting, the military council suffered heavy losses, and the KIA and allied forces lost nearly 20 members, according to a person close to the KIA.
“Since the beginning of the fighting, three people were killed and four injured in aerial bombing. The junta’s firing of heavy and light weapons resulted in 17 casualties. I don’t know the exact number of causalities,” he said.
Local residents report that ongoing shelling and airstrikes by the junta during the Hseng Taung battle have resulted in the deaths of around 50 civilians, with many others injured.
Nearly 400 houses were burned down. Thousands of local residents from Hsaing Taung have fled to Hpakant town.
Currently, the KIA and allied forces are conducting area clearance operations in Hseng Taung village. Local residents reported that they are too afraid to return home, fearing that the military council could launch airstrikes at any moment.
The KIA and its allied forces have captured Hsaing Taung, Namya, Nam Tain, Taw Hmaw, Hla Maung Thein, Kathaing Taung, Nam Hmaw (3,000 tons), Tar Ma Kan, Se Zin camps and camps and police station in Hway Hkar, Nyaung Bin camp and Chaung Wa camp in Hpakant Township.
Sent by NMG