The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) exchanged fire with the military on the road between Kutkai and Nam Hpetka towns in Muse District around 1pm on 28 February.

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“During the one-hour clash, all vehicles were blocked and the drivers and passengers waited on the roadside,” a driver, who wishes to remain anonymous, told SHAN.

A man from Kutkai, who also wishes to remain anonymous, said the fighting started because the KIA has been collecting taxes from each vehicle for two years. “They often fight in this area, but I don’t think they have fought for 20 days.”

The KIA’s Battalion 9, which is under Brigade 6, fought several times with the regime’s Infantry Battalion 45 near Nam Hpalun in early February, wounding at least one civilian.