KIA-Led Forces Destroy Two More Junta Support Vessels Near Shwegu, Bringing Bhamo Campaign Total to 14

On September 9, 2026, Kachin Independence Army forces destroyed two pusher tugboats from a nine-vessel junta reinforcement flotilla — four riverine combat ships, four pusher tugboats and an iron-clad barge — that had arrived in Shwegu Town on September 8 as part of a monsoon-season resupply push toward Bhamo Township. The tugboats caught fire and were destroyed as they prepared to depart upstream. The strike is the latest in a weeks-long KIA-led campaign against junta river resupply lines along the Ayeyarwady between Shwegu and Bhamo, which has destroyed at least 14 vessels since late August and earlier saw more than 100 military personnel — including 151 soldiers, 17 police officers, 16 women and 6 children — surrender from disabled vessels.