Burmese government forces on Monday attacked the Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army (RCSS/SSA), according to an official from the RCSS/SSA.

An RCSS/SSA official who requested anonymity told Shan Herald that a unit under Division 33 of the Tatmadaw [Burma Army] launched an offensive on RCSS/SSA forces in the Namtu sub-township areas of Mong Tat and Mong Maw in northern Shan State’s Kyaukme Township. He said that the offensive led to casualties on both sides.

“The Tatmadaw knew that the RCSS/SSA troops were in the area,” a source close to the RCSS/SSA said on condition of anonymity. “The RCSS troops were unaware that the government unit would attack them, so there were a few casualties on their side.”

He added: “Fighting lasted a while before both groups reached a compromise.”

On the same day, the RCSS/SSA also clashed in a nearby area with the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), an ethnic armed group who were denied status to sign the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement by the government in October last year. The RCSS/SSA is a signatory to the NCA, and was the first ethnic armed group to sign a bilateral truce with the government, in November 2011.

Fighting between TNLA and RCSS/SSA first broke out in November last year, only a month after the signing of the so-called NCA between eight ethnic armed groups and the government led by President Thein Sein.

The Burmese military has announced that the TNLA must disarm before joining the peace process.

BY: Shan Herald Agency for News (SHAN)