Six villagers, including two toddlers, were injured by shelling in Muse District during clashes between the Burma Army (BA) and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) in northern Shan State.

The BA fired artillery shells that hit a house in Hpaw Jone Par after fighting broke out with MNDAA in Mongkoe sub township on Tuesday 12 October.

“Three of the victims were taken to the public hospital in Muse town, while the others are receiving medical treatment at Mongkoe hospital. One person who was seriously injured in the attack and was in a coma was taken from Muse to the hospital in Mandalay,” a Mongkoe man told SHAN. Among the injured are two who are only two years old.

“Many have fled the fierce fighting in Mongkoe,” another man told SHAN, explaining over 400 sought safety in a rice field near the Chinese border.

Since late August, the conflict in the sub township has intensified and more than 600 villagers have been forced to seek refuge in Kachin and Lisu churches and Buddhist monasteries in Mongkoe town, where they’ve remained until now.

On 11 October, the BA killed one man during fighting with MNDAA in Hsenwi Township, which is southeast of Mongkoe.

 
“BA clashed with the Kokang army near Hu Lawng village, where the Kokang soldiers forced a villager to lead them. After the MNDAA released him, he was shot dead by BA before returning to his village,” a local source told SHAN.

Fighting broke out on Khur Kham mountain in the morning of 13 October.

“The clash took place near Mang Lwin village…We heard gunfire from our village. Some have been preparing to flee the conflict after the BA attacked the MNDAA with artillery. We’re afraid that the fighting will increase,” another source told SHAN.

The conflict in northern Shan State, which has been escalating since June, has displaced many villagers who are struggling to survive with little support amid the worst outbreak since the pandemic began in Burma.