A People’s Defence Force (PDF) soldier was killed after the group, backed by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), ambushed regime soldiers in Lashio District, northern Shan State.

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According to a local source who requested anonymity, the armed groups fought for an hour near Hper San village in Kunlong Township on 7 March.

“The Burma army captured the body of a PDF soldier, a K-12 assault rifle and some ammunition during the fight,” he told SHAN.

Since the coup more than two years ago, the regime has been flying airstrikes against armed groups that oppose its rule. The junta also frequently attacks civilians with fighter jets as well as artillery and mortar shells, especially after its soldiers have suffered casualties.

SHAN was unable to determine if the military suffered any casualties in the recent battle.

Burma is a signatory to the Geneva Conventions, which state that civilians must be protected in war. But the military is doing the opposite by deliberately attacking villages and displaced camps where civilians are sheltering from the war.