Burma Army (BA) ground troops attacked a military camp where members of the Ywa Ngan People’s Defence Force (PDF) are being trained in southern Shan State.

A source, who asked that his name be kept confidential, informed SHAN that the camp is located in a valley west of Nabang Gyi village in Ywa Ngan Township. The man didn’t know if there were any casualties on either side in the hour-long attack, which began at 1pm on Wednesday, 20 April.

“Three fighter jets are flying over the site of the clash and BA troops stationed on Peayin Hill have been dispatched, so I think clashes will escalate in the area,” he said.

Although there’s no permanent BA base in the township, regime forces have been sent to the area to attack resistance fighters since late 2021.

Now, many BA troops are staying in the villages of Ywa Ngan Township and soldiers are abducting and killing residents suspected of being linked to the PDF. In some of these areas, regime soldiers burn down people’s houses.

During Thingyan, regime armed forces set fire to two houses and abducted two youths in a village in Ywa Ngan Township. A youth, who wishes to remain anonymous, told SHAN, that the soldiers arrived in Lwa Sin at 1am in three military trucks and set fire to the houses along with their contents. He said that one of the abducted youths is only sixteen years old.