A 42-year-old woman and her 12-year-old daughter were killed on Tuesday in northern Shan State’s Kyaukme Township during a clash between the Burma Army and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA). 

Locals in Kyaukme said that the fighting occurred near Nyaung Maung village, and that the mother, Nang Shwe Kyin, and daughter, Nang Kham Ein, were shot after finding themselves trapped in the middle of the armed conflict. 

“The daughter and her mother faced clashes when they returned from their tea farm. They were hit by bullets. They died on the spot,” Mai Saw Tun Tun, who is working with the Northern Shan State Youth Congress in Kyaukme town, told SHAN. 

The two victims were cremated at the Nyaung Maung village graveyard on Wednesday. 

A villager from Nyaung Maung said that the bullets that killed Nang Shwe Kyin and Nang Kham Ein were fired by the Burma Army. 

“TNLA troops stayed in our village… the Burma Army shot at them from the mountain. Some bullets hit some houses in our village. Bullets also hit the mother and daughter,” the local told SHAN. 

Residents of Nyaung Maung also reportedly have not built bunkers in which to hide during fighting. 

A woman from Kyaukme, Nang Mwe Hseng, said that in northern Shan State, it is known that women and children in particular suffer when clashes occur. 

“Men can flee without hesitation but women have to take care of elderly people and children,” Nang Mwe Hseng said. 

SHAN repeatedly called spokespeople for the TNLA and the Burma Army’s True News Information Team but received no response.