By MRATT KYAW THU | FRONTIER
YANGON — Clashes have resumed once again between two non-state armed groups contesting territory in northern Shan State, reports from Kyaukme Township said this week.
The Ta’ang National Liberation Army on Tuesday launched an overnight assault on Kyintkai village, a strategic location around 64 kilometres from Kyaukme town held by the Shan State Army-South, in a resumption of intermittent clashes between the two groups which began at the end of November 2015.
“Around 400 TNLA soldiers approached the village in the afternoon, with fighting continuing for four hours,” Sai Aung Mong, a resident of nearby Thwat San village, told Frontier by phone.
Villagers fled for safety and fighting briefly continued the following day before the TNLA withdrew.
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“No villagers have been injured, but it’s confirmed that 12 TNLA soldiers were killed,” claimed Sai Tun Aung, the Pyithu Hluttaw MP for Kyaukme, in a phone call with Frontier.