Soldiers from the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), who have reportedly taken up residence in a camp for civilians displaced by the conflict in Muse District have asked occupants to give them food.

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“Nearly 200 TNLA soldiers have arrived at the Mong Wee IDP (internally displaced persons) camp…They have demanded five bags of rice from the IDPs,” a local man told SHAN, asking how they’re supposed to provide them with food when they have so little themselves.

As there is a regime camp near the IDP camp in northern Shan State, residents, the majority of whom are Shan, fear that the deployment of Ta’ang soldiers will lead to conflict.

“We’re worried that there will be clashes in our area….It’ll be very difficult for us to flee to a safe place if there are clashes in this area…We’re also afraid that the TNLA soldiers will threaten us if we don’t give them five bags of rice,” the man said.

Mong Wee camp was set up by civilians who fled the fighting between the TNLA and the Restoration Council of Shan State in 2006.

According to locals from Muse and Nam Kham, TNLA soldiers collected taxes from motorists travelling between the two towns in April and stayed in peoples’ houses along the way.

SHAN has repeatedly asked TNLA spokesperson Col Tar Aik Kyaw for comment on the matter, but he couldn’t be reached. According to the Geneva Convention, during a conflict it’s a war crime to stay with civilians.