At least 3,000 villagers who fled their homes in Shan State’s Kyaukme District to escape the fighting between Shan and Ta’ang militias are currently taking shelter in the towns of Hsipaw and Namtu.
Intermittent hostilities between the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and the Shan State Army-South (SSA-S) first flared in November 2015, weeks after the SSA-S joined seven other non-state armed groups in signing the nationwide ceasefire agreement. The two sides have traded accusations of territorial encroachment in explaining the clashes, which have intensified in recent weeks.
Today, DVB’s TV correspondent Khun Zaw Oo reported from Hsipaw that around 2,000 displaced persons are currently receiving temporary shelter in local Buddhist monasteries.
Similarly, around 1,000 locals from the village of Panglon, where hostilities broke out on Tuesday, are now sheltering in the town of Namtu. DVB reported yesterday that several homes in Panglon had recently been destroyed by artillery fire.
Relief workers in northern Shan State said that these internally displaced persons (IDPs) are urgently in need of blankets and warm clothing as the cold season sets in.
Meanwhile, in Danai, Kachin State, a local woman was accidentally shot by a Burmese soldier, according to the Office of the Commander-in-Chief.
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According to the military report, the Burmese army was conducting routine security operations in Danai [also written Tanai] on Tuesday when a soldier spotted a “suspicious man” taking photographs of an army column. The serviceman called for him to stop and hand over the photos. The man did not respond, but instead jumped onto a motorbike and drove off. Apparently aiming at the motorcycle tires, the soldier fired and missed, but hit a woman at a nearby construction site.
The woman, identified as Khin Cho, sustained a non-critical injury, the report said. Army officials said they have made arrangements to provide her medical treatment at Danai hospital, and are looking into the incident.
