Regime Helicopter Crashes After KIA Open Fire in Kachin State
By Network Media Group
Wednesday, December 3, 2024
A State Administration Council (SAC) military helicopter transporting food rations crashed near Lai Sin Mountain, a former headquarters of the KIA and its political wing, the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO), after being shot at by KIA troops at around 11 am today.
KIO spokesperson Col Naw Bu, head of the KIO’s information department, said it appears his troops shot it down. “We are still confirming whether our soldiers indeed shot it down or if it was due to engine failure.”
The aircraft was reportedly delivering supplies from the Myitkyina air base. No reports of fighting in the area were mentioned, leading to the assumption that the military helicopter was a transport helicopter.
Mizzima News reported that it was a Russian-made Mi-17 transport helicopter.
A video has circulated on Facebook that appears to show KIA troops shooting down the helicopter, depicting it engulfed in flames.
Sources suggest that the fallen aircraft flew to the Ner Hpawt area in Waingmaw Township.
Although fighting has been noticeable quiet around Lai Sin and Laiza, KIA/KIO’s current capital, compared to recent months, KIA and People’s Defence Force have been fighting SAC troops in Shwegu Township of Kachin State.
On January 3, KIA and PDF troops ambushed a Burma army column traveling from Shwegu town, resulting in gunfire exchanges. Similar clashes have occurred in the township in recent days.
In Karenni State, since 1111 Operation launched on November 11, Karenni resistance groups shot down a SAC jet fighter and arrested one of the pilots after he successfully ejected from his seat.
