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Ethnic rebels on Monday seized an airport in northern Myanmar near the Chinese border, cutting off a supply channel for a key military base in the region, according to residents and rebel sources.
The Kachin Independence Army, or KIA, and allied forces took over Bhamo Airport after capturing the junta‘s 366th Artillery Battalion, they said.
It marks the latest setback for the military just days shy of the fourth anniversary of its Feb. 1, 2021, coup d’etat.
Across the country, rebel groups pushed junta troops back, particularly over the past year. Since early 2024, the KIA and allied forces have captured 14 townships in Kachin state and northern Shan state.
Soon after the airport takeover, a video went viral on social media of KIA and allied forces walking on the runway of the Bhamo airfield, which residents said has not been used for civilians since fighting for control of the city began on Dec. 4.
A resident of Bhamo confirmed to RFA Burmese that the KIA had taken the airport.
“The KIA and its allied forces have taken control of Bhamo airport — a critical hub for the junta, as it is used to deliver logistical supplies and food to troops,“ said the resident who, like others interviewed for this report, spoke on condition of anonymity due to security concerns.
The rebels are now focused on taking Military Operations Command No. 21, or MOC-21, another resident said.
“We are hearing gunfire around the prison and MOC-21, which are behind the airfield,” he said. “We can hear the sounds of gunfire and artillery fire there, especially near the area of MOC-21.”
Relentless airstrikes
While the KIA and allied forces have been trying to take control of Bhamo for nearly two months, fighting has intensified since Jan. 23, residents said.
The junta has been conducting airstrikes “both day and night,” they said, and on Sunday dropped 1,000-pound bombs on Bhamo, destroying several houses.
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Another Bhamo resident told RFA that fighting has now moved within the MOC-21 compound — a site spanning hundreds of acres, where “a number of junta battalions are stationed.”
“These battalions are clustered together in a vast area that connects to the airfield on one side and to the towns of Nawng Hko and Nam Hpar on the other,” the resident said. “Junta forces and their families are also present at the battalions.”
MOC-21 oversees command of Infantry Battalions No. 47 and 236, Artillery Battalion No. 366, Military Engineering Battalion No. 914, Engineer Squadron No. 944, Logistic Support Battalion No. 933, Military Ordnance Squadron No. 641, and the Military Security Force.
‘Fierce fighting’ daily
Col. Naw Bu, the KIA’s spokesperson, was not immediately able to confirm his group’s capture of the airport, as he is based outside of Kachin and was awaiting word from the KIA’s headquarters in the state’s town of Laiza.
But he acknowledged “fierce fighting” is taking place in Bhamo township on a daily basis.
“Our forces are attacking all the military bases in Bhamo,” he said.
Attempts by RFA to contact Moe Min Thein, the junta’s social affairs minister and spokesperson for Kachin state, for more information on the fighting went unanswered Monday.
Translated by Aung Naing. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster.