Intense fighting continues between the military junta forces and joint defense forces in Indaw Township, on the border between Sagaing Region and Kachin State, with only the Japan Cave and one strategic hilltop camp remain under the junta’s control, according to defense forces.
The offensive to capture Indaw town began on 1 November, with joint operations by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), People’s Defense Force (PDF), and All Burma Students’ Democratic Front (ABSDF). The resistance forces have already captured the town’s police station and general administration office.
Currently, defense force members say only the locally known Japan Cave and one strategic hilltop position, held by junta troops from Light Infantry Division 77, remain under junta control.
A defense force member explained: “Indaw is a major gateway to Kachin State, so they won’t give it up easily. It’s also a junction. You can go to Htigyaing, Katha, Banmauk, Kachin State, and even down to Shwebo. Indaw is very a strategic town. If we take Indaw, we can say we’ve got Banmauk and Katha too – it makes things much easier.”
Fighting between junta troops and joint defense forces in Indaw first broke out on 16 August, with a brief lull in the second week of October.
However, battles resumed on 1 November as part of a second offensive to capture the town. A defense force member reports that intense fighting occurs almost daily between the two sides.
Within 10 days of fighting, defense forces have captured about 60 percent of the town. A local resident reports that the junta continues to reinforce their troops using air support:
“There have been clashes every day. How should I put it – there’s constant exchange of gunfire and heavy weapons. It never stops. We hear the sounds every day,” the resident said.
Due to the fierce fighting in Indaw, which sits on the Myitkyina-Shwebo highway, the KIA and PDF have indefinitely closed this route since 12 August. While travelers had been using a bypass road, the military has also blocked this alternate route since early November.
Meanwhile, most local residents have been displaced since August due to the fighting. Those sheltering in villages near Indaw town are in need of medicine and food supplies.
Sent by KNG.
