A man was shot and wounded by police in Muse, northern Shan State, on Monday evening after allegedly running a checkpoint on his motorcycle, according to a local source, speaking to Shan Herald on condition of anonymity.

He identified the man as Aye Chan Ko Ko, a worker at the Kanbawza Bank in Muse.

“He was shot while he riding his motorbike at around 7.30pm,” said the source. “He got hit in his right hand and right leg. His hand was seriously wounded.

“I heard that he was shot because he did kept going when the police ordered him to stop,” the same source added. “He was taken to a hospital in Shweli [on the Chinese border].”

Last night, three bombs reportedly exploded in Muse, according to a local resident who requested anonymity on the grounds of safety. One targeted a police station.

Following intensified fighting between Burmese armed forces and an alliance of ethnic armed groups – the Arakan Army (AA), Kachin Independence Army (KIA), Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), and Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), who have recently begun calling themselves the “Northern Alliance” – security has been tightened in Muse Township with police officers stationed across the breadth of the city.

On November 25, Shan Herald reported that some townships in the area, including Muse, Hsenwi and Namkham, had cancelled Shan New Year celebrations, which were scheduled for this week.

Due to the recent hostilities, thousands of civilians from the Muse area have fled their homes, with more than 3,000 seeking refuge across the border in China. Some have returned to their homes in recent days, but the overall atmosphere in the city is described as quiet and tense.

By Shan Herald Agency for News (SHAN)