YANGON, Myanmar – Myanmar’s military has acknowledged carrying out airstrikes against ethnic Kachin rebels in the country’s north and said it captured a hilltop post from where the insurgents launched attacks on government supply convoys.

The statement broadcast on state television Wednesday contradicted government claims two days earlier that the military was not carrying out offensive air attacks on the Kachin.

Each side blames the other for an upsurge in fighting that began around Christmas.

The Kachin earlier said they were being attacked by helicopter gunships and fighter jets, but President’s Office director Maj. Zaw Htay said the aircraft were being used mainly to supply government units whose access to supplies by road had been cut off by the Kachin Independence Army.

The Kachin have long sought greater autonomy from the central government.