Burmese Army controls KIA’s Lungja hillside

A KIA soldier takes position in the frontline in eastern Kachin State, Northern Burma. Photo: Kachin News Group

Burmese government troops now control Lungja hillside, which was recently controlled by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in N’Mawk (Momauk) Township in Manmaw (Bhamo) District in Kachin State, said local sources.

KIA officials at the Laiza headquarters confirmed to the Kachin News Group the KIA post on the hillside withdrew on Friday when over 200 government troops marched to the position.

It was third loss of a strategic post for the KIA 3rd Brigade. The KIA’s Sang Gang Post and Bum Sen Post, of Battalion 15, under 3rd Brigade, fell to the Burmese Army in the mid-June.

KIA troops at the frontlines are authorized only for defensive manoeuvres against the government troops but they are not authorized to take offensive action against their opponents, according to KIA troops at the front.