Myanmar’s junta orders air strikes to recover lost outposts

Myanmar’s junta orders air strikes to recover lost outposts

Subject :IR

Section: Conflict

Context: Myanmar junta orders airstrikes to recover lost outposts

More about the news:

• Myanmar’s ruling junta ordered air strikes and troop reinforcements in an attempt to reclaim lost outposts near the Chinese border from rebels, specifically the Kachin Independence Army (KIA). 
• The KIA attacked military positions in northern Shan state and Kachin state, prompting the junta to respond with air strikes and artillery.
• The KIA has a history of conflict with Myanmar’s military and controls parts of Kachin state.
• The region has seen increased fighting since the 2021 coup, with the junta also accused of carrying out attacks on civilians in its bid to quell resistance.

What is the Kachin Independence Army (KIA). 

• The Kachin Independence Army is a non-state armed group and the military wing of the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), a political group of ethnic Kachins in Northern Myanmar
• The Kachins are a coalition of six tribes whose homeland encompasses territory in China’s Yunnan, Northeast India and Kachin State in Myanmar.