An officer from Myitkyina-based Northern Regional Command on Friday warned KIA that Burmese Army will launch attack on KIA’s headquarters if no proper explanation was given by KIO’s Joint Conflict Resolution Team on an incident took place in Sinbo Township.
KIO Technical Advisory Team’s spokesperson Dau Hka said KIO representatives in Myitkyina received a call from General Staff Officer 3 (G-3) on Friday saying that he called the KIO office under the direction of Northern Regional Commander that 5 unknown men approached 141st Light Infantry Battalion headquarters in Sinbo, located between Myitkyina and Bhamo, on Thursday night, Nov 13. The officer said a sentry asked the men for the secret code but they couldn’t answer it. So the sentry opened fire on the five unknown men and a skirmish took place between 9:45 pm and 9:50 pm on Nov 13.
“The General Staff Officer told us that those unknown men are KIA soldiers and warned us if we can’t give a clear explanation on the incident, the Burmese Army will begin attack on KIA’s headquarters,” said Dau Hka. “We investigated our KIA soldiers in the area and none of them said they approached Burmese Army’s 141st LIB headquarters on Thursday night”.
Local Sinbo residents said they heard small gunfire from 141st LIB headquarters for two consecutive nights on Thursday and Friday. A resident said it was like a night-firing practice and battle drills, not an actual gun battle.
Mr. Dau Hka also said a Burmese Army column opened fire around the same time on Thursday night on a KIA’s 19th Battalion position, located east of Daw Hpum Yang on Myitkyina-Bhamo road, with two 60 mm artillery rounds without any reason.
