Mizzima
The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and allied forces captured the Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 321 base in Shwenyangbin Village, Waingmaw Township, Kachin State, on the night of 21 May.
The strategically important base is on the Myitkyina to Bahmo highway and it controls the entrance to Waingmaw Town which lies directly across the Irrawaddy River from the Kachin State capital, Myitkyina, which is home to the junta’s Northern Military Command and a junta Air Force Base.
The LIB 321 base was captured after a four-day blockade and attack, but a clearance operation of the area around the base is still ongoing, according to KIA sources.
“The junta soldiers planted many landmines inside the base as they abandoned it. We cannot proceed any further because there is still fighting ongoing [in the surrounding area]”, said an officer from KIA Battalion 3.
After the LIB 321 base was captured the Northern Military Command in Myitkyina continuously fired artillery into Waingmaw Town and Shwenyangbin Village causing residents to flee.
As the fighting intensifies and moves closer to Waingmaw Town, Residents from the villages of Hkatshu, Mahkantee, Naunghe, Sankar, Inlay, and Nawngsipaw in Waingmaw Township have been fleeing to monasteries and churches in Waingmaw Town and to Myitkyina Town since the morning of 21 May.
As of 19 May, the KIA and its allies occupied at least five junta military camps on the Myitkyina to Bahmo highway. Currently, the only base the junta still holds on the highway is the Battalion 58 base.
