The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) fought the Burma Army (BA) in the Mongpaw area of Muse District in northern Shan State, with BA shelling damaging at least two houses in nearby Mang Nawng Kawng.
A man told KNG on condition of anonymity that a blind elderly man left to fend for himself in the village was fortunately not injured by the three shells that hit the houses.
The fighting began after KIA troops ambushed a patrolling BA column near Mang Nawng Kawng with a landmine at 9am on 28 March. The Kachin fighters attacked the same column with another landmine at noon.
Most civilians fled to the village church during the violence, preventing bloodshed. According to a villager who asked that his name not be published, the BA didn’t beat anyone, but they shot twice into the dirt when they spotted a lone male youth in Mang Nawng Kawng who was unharmed by the bullets. However, another source, who also requested anonymity, said everyone was afraid the BA soldiers would torture them after the KIA attacked them.
KIA Brigade 6, Battalion 36 and fighters from the People’s Defence Forces attacked BA with landmines near Nam Hkawng Ywa Hawng in Mongpaw Region on 22 March, leading to an hour-long battle on Nam Hkawng hill.
Two days earlier, the KIA fought the junta near Samar, after which villagers fled the area.
Since February, the KIA and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army have engaged in repeated battles with the BA in the Mongpaw area.
