Escaped porter claims 37 Burmese soldiers killed in N’Tap Bum

A porter, who escaped from the clutches of a Burmese Army military column in N’Tap Bum war zone in Kachin State, northern Burma said on Monday, that 37 government soldiers belonging to the military column had been killed.

According to him the soldiers were killed in the fighting with Kachin Independence Army (KIA) soldiers in different places in the N’Tap Bum mountain range, about 8 miles southeast of KIA headquarters Laiza, near the China border.

He ran away from the military column and escaped to the KIA controlled area.

KIA officials in Laiza said over 1,000 Burmese troops have been secretly deployed in the strategic mountain range since mid-October aiming to capture Laiza.

On November 17, most Burmese troops in the mountain range were successfully pushed back to the mountainsides by Kachin soldiers and lots of arms and ammunition seized, said KIA officials.

However, skirmishes continue between KIA soldiers and the remaining Burmese troops in the mountain range, said KIA officers on the frontline.