As Burmese government troops seized control of another Kachin Independence Army (KIA) outpost on Wednesday, relief workers said that already overcrowded refugee camps near the group’s headquarters are seeing a fresh influx of civilians fleeing from intensified fighting.
The outpost, at the base of the Hpun Pyan Bum hill, about 7 km west of the KIA stronghold of Laiza, is the second KIA position in the area to fall since the Burmese government army stepped up its offensive late last month.
After days of airstrikes and artillery shelling that began in the final week of December, the KIA lost control of its Point 771 outpost near Lajayang on Jan. 3.