KACHIN STATE – According to a source close to the Kachin People’s Defence Force (KPDF), there was a close encounter between the alliance of Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and People’s Defence Force (PDF) and the junta council troops which had raided towards Tsumpiyang Village, Putao Township to conduct clearance operations, where one was reportedly killed and four were severely injured on the junta council’s side and one KPDF comrade was also severely injured.
The source mentioned that the alliance of KIA and PDF engaged in an exchange of fire against the fascist junta council troops which had raided Tsumpiyang Village, at Wadat Village at around 4 p.m. on May 18.
“While they (junta council troops) were coming to conduct clearance operations in advance, the alliance forces intercepted them by firing two rounds of heavy weapons for two times. There were back and forth firefights for 2 hours,” said the source.
After locking in fierce fighting for two hours, the junta council troops are said to have suffered defeat and retreated.
KIA had attacked the junta camp near Tsumpiyang Village where a combination of junta council troops and their subordinate Pyi Thu Sit militia were stationed, on February 1, 2022.
After that incident, the junta council launched aerial bombardments using three military helicopters, near Tsumpiyang Village, on February 3. As a result, five local residents were severely injured and around ten thousand civilians have been forced to flee temporarily.
On March 4, a confrontation broke out again between the junta council troops and the alliance forces, when the junta council launched an attack on the junta camp that the alliance forces captured and the camp was destroyed in the ensuing firefight.
Tsumpiyang Village in Putao Township, is a place where battles frequently break out between the alliance of KIA and PDF and the fascist junta council troops, since the coup.