Attacks in Kachin State and Sagaing Region during final phase of military elections

Five civilians were injured in an artillery exchange between regime forces and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in Hpakant Township, Kachin State, during the third phase of the military’s elections on Sunday. The final round of voting in five urban wards was halted due to the “indiscriminate” shelling, residents told DVB.

A Hpakant resident added that artillery shells fired by both sides landed in the town. Renewed fighting between the KIA and regime forces in Hpakant began on June 16. Hpakant is located 94-158 miles (151-254 km) west and northwest of the Kachin State capital Myitkyina and the KIA headquarters of Laiza.

The third round of voting took place in Bhamo, Hpakant and Shwegu townships on Jan. 25. The Union Election Commission (UEC) held the first two rounds of voting in nine townships, including Myitkyina, Mohnyin, Putao, Naungmon, Khaunglanhpu, Tanai, Machanbaw, Mogaung, and Waingmaw, on Dec. 28 and Jan. 11.

The UEC is unable to hold polls in Mansi, Momauk, Sumprabum, Injangyang, Chipwi and Tsawlaw, which were seized by the KIA in its statewide offensive against regime forces launched on March 7, 2024. Kachin State has a total of 18 townships.

No casualties were reported during airstrikes carried out by the Myanmar Air Force on Sagaing Region’s Kanni Township as regime forces have also carried out paramotor attacks against People’s Defence Force (PDF) positions in eastern, southern and northern areas of Kanni on Jan. 25, according to residents.

A Kanni resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity that polls were held only in urban areas of the town with around 300 residents who “support” the military going to vote since most residents had been evacuated from their homes since the PDF launched an offensive to seize the town in March 2024.

Besides Kanni, the UEC held the final phase of the military’s 2025-26 elections Sagaing’s Salingyi Township, 27 miles (43 km) southwest of the Sagaing Region capital Monywa on Jan. 25. A resident of Salingyi told DVB that hundreds of workers and their families at the Latpadaungtaung copper mine felt “pressured” to vote on Jan. 25.

The UEC held two rounds of voting in 23 Sagaing townships on Dec. 28 and Jan. 11. It is unable to hold polls in 12 of Sagaing’s 37 townships, due to “a lack of conditions to hold free-and-fair elections.” The final round of voting was held in 61 out of Myanmar’s 330 townships. The UEC was unable to hold its elections in 67 townships.