KACHIN STATE – The battle situation was reportedly quiet in Momauk on Tuesday (April 23) as most residents fled to Bhamo.
“The battle came to a pause yesterday evening (April 22) and is still quiet this morning (April 23). There were casualties from heavy artillery yesterday and as more battles could break out, the residents left the town,” said a resident of Bhamo.
The fleeing civilians from Momauk have been accepted by social volunteer teams in Bhamo, who opened up a temporary refugee camp. The volunteer groups said that they can’t give an exact number of displaced people as more are still coming in.
The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the junta council clashed in Momauk on April 22 from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. It is said that the battle broke out after KIA intercepted a junta column of around 100 that came out from Bhamo.
While the clashes were going strong on the ground, junta battalions based in Bhamo were reported to have fired heavy artillery into the area and the shells landed and exploded on some houses, killing a child, a woman, and a young man, according to the local people.
Junta military Operations Command 21, the headquarters of Infantry Division 88, Artillery Battalion 366 are located in Bhamo, which is around 9 miles away from Momauk and the base of Light Infantry Battalion 437 is also located near Momauk.
Locals reported that the junta council launched heavy artillery attacks from those places.
KIA attacked and captured the junta camps along Seinlong Mountain between Momauk and Lweje in early March and the junta department offices in Momauk have been closed since then as the staff escaped to Bhamo.