Myanmar Spring Chronicle – January 8 Perspective
Moemaka, January 9, 2025
KIA Captures Mansi Town; Junta’s Northern Strategic Routes in Jeopardy
In recent intense battles in Kachin State’s eastern towns of Mansi and Bhamo, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) launched a sustained offensive to seize the military junta’s strongholds. On January 8, media reports confirmed that KIA forces had fully captured Mansi. Meanwhile, fighting continues in Bhamo, with reports indicating KIA control over significant portions of the town.
Mansi and Bhamo are strategic towns in eastern Kachin State, near the Chinese border. KIA’s recent operations aimed at capturing Mansi began in early 2024, forcing locals to flee the conflict as early as mid-2023. The town was subjected to sustained offensives in late 2023, leading to its capture after weeks of fighting.
Bhamo, located along the Irrawaddy River, serves as a vital trade hub with China, facilitating the export of Myanmar’s natural resources, particularly timber. For decades, illegal logging and timber smuggling to China have been rampant in the region, with military-junta conflicts displacing local populations to camps in northern Shan State, such as Namkham and Man Wein Gyi.
Illegal exploitation of Kachin’s natural resources, including deforestation, intensified after a 1994 ceasefire but paused temporarily during renewed clashes in 2011. Residents noted that such exploitation often surges during periods of relative calm, only to halt during active conflicts.
If KIA successfully captures Bhamo, it could control the upper Irrawaddy River’s strategic waterways connecting Kachin State to Sagaing and Mandalay. This prospect jeopardizes the junta’s control over key logistical routes vital for its northern and central operations.
Junta’s Strategic Challenges
The military regime has long relied on Kachin State’s highways, waterways, and railways to maintain supply chains and troop movements. However, it now faces increasing losses and challenges in maintaining control. These developments parallel historical examples like Vietnam’s “Ho Chi Minh Trail,” which played a decisive role in the Vietnam War, underscoring the strategic importance of supply routes.
In the ongoing Myanmar conflict, the junta’s so-called “strategic highways”—including roads connecting Kachin to Sagaing and Mandalay—have faced disruption. Resistance forces, including PDFs (People’s Defense Forces), regularly ambush military convoys on these routes, while KIA and PDF units threaten waterways linking upper Sagaing to Kachin State.
The junta’s loss of control extends beyond Kachin’s eastern towns to include key regions in northern Sagaing and areas near the Chin State border. PDF forces in Sagaing have effectively targeted military convoys with landmines, further complicating the junta’s logistics.
Expanding KIA Influence
In recent months, KIA has expanded its control across several key areas in Kachin State, including Pha Kan and Special Region 1, as well as Mansi and Bhamo. Remaining junta-controlled regions include areas in northern Sagaing, including Hkamti, Paungbyin, and Mawlaik, as well as parts of the Naga Self-Administered Zone. However, much of northern Myanmar now falls under KIA’s growing influence.
The shifting dynamics highlight the significant challenges facing the junta as KIA, along with allied resistance forces, continues to assert dominance in key regions of northern Myanmar.