On the morning of 11 April, two Shan forces engaged in armed clashes near Mark Lang village in Laihka township. Local people from Mark Lang, Wan Mon and Wan Sarng , Wan Mark Kok villages fled the fighting. Many of the displaced people are now sheltering in Laikha town.

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The two Shan forces are the Restoration Council of Shan State / Shan State Army – South (RCSS/SSA-S) and the Shan State Progress Party / Shan State Army – North (SSPP/SSA-N). Lakha Township is part of Loilem District in southern Shan state.

The Burma army and the Wan Parng People’s Militia Force (Wan Parng PMF) also have a presence in the area around Mark Lang village, where the clash between the RCSS/SSA-S and SSPP/SSA-N occurred.

“We heard the sound of gun fire this morning. The RCSS/SSA-S engaged in a fire fight with the SSPP/SSA-N near Mark Lang village. Many local people put their rice and paddy seeds into safe storage and fled to Laikha town. Some people are still packing up their property and have not left their village yet,” a local man, who requested anonymity for security reasons, told SHAN.

Local sources said that many people were working on their onion farms when the clash erupted nearby. They immediately returned home to pack up their property and flee. Many people are now staying with their relatives in Laikha town.

“I don’t know the exact number of IDPs in Laikha town. Some people already arrived into town and are staying with their relatives. People are still arriving now,” the local man told SHAN.

Local people said that they have faced many difficulties due to the fighting between the two Shan forces. Locals say they want an end to the fighting between the two Shan forces.

“They are both Shan ethnic armed organizations (EAOs). They are fighting each other. We local people are suffering from these armed conflicts. We have to flee the clashes. We have lost our properties and businesses. These Shan EAOs speak the same Shan language. We want the two Shan forces to start dialogue. We want them to solve problems by dialogue. We do not want any war, we do not want to see any armed conflict,” another local man, a 50 year-old Laikha town resident, told SHAN.

SHAN repeatedly called the spokespersons of the RCSS and SSPP for their comment on the armed clashes in Laikha Township, but neither has responded to the call.

The two Shan forces had a clash near Salai Loi village in Laikha Township on 9 April. A RCSS/SSA-S soldier was killed and another was wounded during the clash. Three SSPP/SSA-N soldiers were wounded.

In February, the two Shan forces had a clash in Kunhing Township, southern Shan state.

The RCSS/SSA-S is a signatory of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement with the Myanmar military/government but the SSPP/SSA-N did not sign the Agreement. Leaders of the RCSS/SSA-S and SSPP/SSA-N both attended peace-talk meetings in Naypyitaw in early 2023. The SSPP/SSA-N is a member of Federal Political Negotiation Consultative Committee (FPNCC).