An artillery shell fired by the Burma Army into Pankyan village in northern Shan State’s Kyaukme Township on Monday, killing a man and injuring a woman.

The Hsipaw-based Infantry Battalion reportedly opened fire using artillery at around 8:00 a.m. on June 29.

Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) spokesperson Lt-ColSai Oum Khur said that the man who was killed was 56 years old.

“Our RCSS troops were not staying in the village. When our troops were far away from the village, the Burma Army fired artillery into the village,” Lt-Col Sai Oum Khur told SHAN. “The RCSS didn’t respond to it. There was not an exchange of gunfire between the two forces. It was one-sided shooting.”

An RCSS liaison officer in Kyaukme reported to the Burma Army on June 24 that the Shan forces would be destroying seized narcotics on international anti-narcotics day on June 26.

Lt-Col Sao Oum Khur said that the Burma Army and the RCSS had clashes in Kyaukme Township one day earlier on June 25, despite informing the Tatmadaw about the destruction of drugs in the area.

No clashes occurred on June 26, he added, but tension has remained high, culminating in the artillery fire on Monday.

“The Burma Army has continued its military movement in the area. RCSS troops are trying to avoid the clashes with the Burma Army in the area,” the RCSS spokesperson told SHAN.

The RCSS is signatory to the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement with the government and military, and has held frequent talks with the government regarding the peace process, yet attacks and clashes continue.  

“It’s not a good sign. The current clashes are just minor clashes. I don’t think it’s a planned military offensive operation. I don’t think it will expand. But civilians could still die,” Lt-Col Sao Oum Khur told SHAN.

SHAN repeatedly called the Tatmadaw’s True News Information Team for comment on the reported shelling in Kyaukme, but received no response at the time of reporting.