Kachin haunted by mysterious bombs
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A total of 16 bombs exploded in Kachin State in the five days from January 15 to January 19. A man was killed, and 13 were injured.
According to a senior officer from the military’s Northern Command, who asked not to be named, the recent clash in Hpakant killed one government soldier and four members of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA).
He insisted that government troops conducted an operation to fight KIA forces who ‘abducted’ three policemen.
“The police officers were doing their duty to apply security to the region. The KIA’s action is unacceptable. Four KIA members were killed and we seized two guns. One solider was killed and three others were injured,” he said.
On January 16, an army unit based in the upper areas of Myit Sone was attacked for 30 minutes.
It was reported earlier that about 2,000 villagers were trapped in the battling area including hundreds of Chinese. China yesterday clarified that there was no Chinese
"According to a preliminary investigation by our joint investigative group in our consulate in Myanmar, it is not true that there are a large number of Chinese citizens trapped in the crossfire zone," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a daily news briefing.
The arrest of three policemen by the KIA followed the military’s shelling of KIA academy in November which killed 23 cadets.
While military confrontation was under controlled, civilians experienced mysterious bombing.
On January 15, four bombs went off in Hpakant Township and nearby Lonekhin Village. On January 16, another two bombs went off in Hpakant causing no injuries.
On January 17, two bombs went off in Lonekhin Village and Mohnyin Township.
On January 18, a bomb exploded on the Loneton-Saesin Road. On the same day, an unknown motorcyclist threw a bomb at a military truck four miles away from Lonekhin. Three military men were injured, and their conditions are unknown. That same day, a hand-made bomb was thrown at the Military Intelligence Office in Hpakant, destroying part of the office. Another two bombs went off in public areas that day, and no one was injured.
On January 19, a bomb exploded in Hpakant at 1pm, causing no injuries. Another bomb in Hpakant later that day killed one person and injured another two.
