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Troops of the Ta-ang
National Liberation Army
(Photo: TNLA)
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An elderly villager
was killed when artillery shells landed in her village amid fighting between
the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and Burmese government forces in
northern Shan State’s Muse District, according to the ethnic armed group.
TNLA spokesperson Ta
Aik Kyaw said the Ta’ang militia engaged with the Burmese army’s 88th Infantry
Battalion yesterday when the government troops advanced on rebel positions in a
wooded area between the villages of Kawngkher and Pangsang in Namhkam Township.
“We engaged in a
fight with the 88th Infantry Battalion when their troops advanced on our
positions yesterday at around 10am,” said Ta Aik Kyaw, adding that hostilities
continued until 2pm.
“After the fighting
subsided, the Tatmadaw [Burmese armed forces] then launched an artillery strike
from their base north of Namhkam towards Pangsang village. An 80-year-old woman
named Ya Lai was killed when a shell landed on her house.”
Ta Aik Kyaw said the
TNLA is still trying to ascertain if there are more civilian casualties. He
said the Burmese military also dispatched three helicopter gunships to attack
TNLA units around the villages.
A local resident in
Namhkam said he heard gunfire and saw smoke rising from the village of
Kawngkher on Tuesday morning.
“We have been
hearing gunfire from Kawngkher, which is about four or five miles southeast of
our town,” he told DVB today. “At around 3pm, the Tatmadaw base in Namhkam
began launching artillery strikes in the direction of the Palaung [Ta’ang]
villages where the TNLA troops were supposedly encamped.”
He said the sound of
gunfire and artillery died down in the afternoon; however local residents are
now fearful that similar attacks will occur again.
The TNLA reported
yesterday that several clashes had occurred over the weekend, including
skirmishes in Namtu, Kutkai and Namkham townships.
The Burmese military
has yet to make a statement about any recent clashes with the Ta’ang rebels.
The years-long
conflict between Burma’s government forces and the TNLA grew more complicated
in November when the Ta’ang army joined forces with three other ethnic armed
groups, declaring the establishment of a “Northern Alliance” in response to
continued Tatmadaw offensives in the region.