Intense Clashes Continue Across Six Townships in Kachin and Northern Shan States

Severe military tensions and heavy fighting persist between a Kachin Independence Army (KIA)-led resistance coalition and Myanmar junta forces across five townships in Kachin State and one in northern Shan State, according to military spokespersons and ground sources.

Active clashes and artillery exchanges have been documented in Bhamo, Hpakant, Monghnyin, Waingmaw, and Khaunglanhpu townships in Kachin State, as well as Momeik (Mongmit) Township in northern Shan State near the Kachin border.

"Daily skirmishes continue around Bhamo Town," KIA spokesperson Colonel Naw Bu told NMG. "Fighting is also ongoing in Mabein and Momeik towns near the Shan-Kachin border, while intermittent clashes occur around the Indawgyi Lake area in Monghnyin Township. In Waingmaw, the situation remains extremely tense, and both sides are exchanging artillery fire and drone strikes in Hpakant."

In Bhamo, regime forces have stepped up counter-offensives to recapture urban wards lost in previous battles, deploying airstrikes and drone bombardments following the arrival of military vessels carrying troop reinforcements and supplies.

Concurrently, KIA-led forces overran a junta camp on Shwemyintin Pagoda Hill near Nyaungni Village in Momeik Township on September 28.

In Monghnyin Township, resistance fighters captured an outpost operated by the junta-aligned Shanni Nationalities Army (SNA) in Hepar Village, located near Indawgyi Lake.

As battlefield losses mount, local accounts and KIA statements indicate the military regime is increasingly resorting to forced recruitment and human portering to address critical manpower shortages.

"In Putao and Machanbaw towns, the junta has forcibly recruited civilians to serve as porters," Colonel Naw Bu said, adding that regime officials are also attempting to organize local militia units in Hpakant to supplement depleted frontline forces.

Displaced residents and local human rights advocates report that the military's ongoing counter-offensives have been accompanied by indiscriminate artillery shelling, aerial bombings, arbitrary detentions, and arson, driving further civilian displacement across northern Myanmar.