Key Myanmar Bridge Damaged in Junta Airstrike Amid Heavy Fighting Near Bhamo

A strategic dual-use bridge in Kachin State’s Bhamo Township was damaged in a military junta airstrike on September 5, following heavy attacks by resistance forces on a military flotilla navigating the Ayeyarwady River, residents and resistance sources reported. The Hsinhkan Bridge—which carries both a road and railway line linking Bhamo with Katha in Sagaing Region—sustained structural damage during the bombardment. The airstrike bent the supporting steel frame on the eastern side, left a car-sized crater in the bridge deck, and rendered the railway line completely unusable. The attack occurred after a 15-vessel junta flotilla traveling upstream from Mandalay came under intense ambush by a resistance coalition, including the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the Kachin People’s Defence Force (KPDF). “The junta bombed the bridge both to secure the flotilla’s passage and to sever logistics routes coming from Sagaing Region,” a Bhamo-based resistance fighter stated on social media, noting that the narrow river section near Hsinhkan Village is a frequent ambush site. While parts of the flotilla were heavily damaged—leading to the surrender of several vessels and the capture of nearly 200 prisoners of war by the KIA—seven ships, including two combat vessels, managed to reach Bhamo Town. Other vessels remain stranded in Shwegu Township. Ground fighting continues to rage around Hsinhkan, Waema, Sinsakhan, and Nawngmo villages as disembarked junta troops attempt to regroup and counter resistance forces. Ongoing hostilities have restricted access to the site, preventing independent verification of the full extent of the bridge's damage.