Clashes and airstrikes in Kachin State as military counteroffensive continues

Clashes between the Myanmar military and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) continued in Kachin State’s Shwegu Township on Saturday, days after a deadly series of airstrikes by the Myanmar Air Force killed one civilian and seriously injured three others on May 5.

Frontline sources report that a coalition of KIA and People’s Defence Force (PDF) fighters engaged with a massive deployment of over 1,000 regime troops between May 5-9.

A KIA source, speaking to DVB on the condition of anonymity, claimed the military suffered “heavy” casualties during the clashes, though resistance casualty figures remain undisclosed.

Airstrikes and martial law

The violence has also impacted neighboring northern Shan State, where residents report that two civilians were killed on May 5 during an airstrike on Mabein Township’s Thonegwa village.

Both Shwegu and Mabein are heavily contested and currently operating under martial law. Naypyidaw imposed martial law—which authorizes military tribunals to try civilians and hand down sentences as severe as the death penalty—on Shwegu on April 23.

Mabein, seized by the KIA in January 2024, is one of 15 townships in Shan State under the martial law decree.

The recent clashes follow a military counteroffensive that departed from the Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 121 base in Mabein’s Ngar Ooe village in late April.

According to military analysts, the regime forces may be attempting to push through and reinforce their besieged positions in Kachin’s Bhamo Township. The KIA’s offensive to seize Bhamo has now stretched into its second year.

Meanwhile, regime media claimed a strategic victory on May 6, reporting that the military successfully reopened the 341-mile (548 km) road connecting Mandalay to Kachin State via the Sagaing Region after regaining control of all 12 towns along the route.

The ongoing battles are part of a statewide offensive launched by the KIA on March 7, 2024, which has already seen the resistance capture several key townships from pro-regime forces, including Sumprabum, Injangyang, Chipwi, Tsawlaw, and Mabein.