On Tuesday, a Military Council jet fighter shelled a Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) camp in Muse Township, northern Shan State while ground troops sprayed artillery from afar at Jae Lant, damaging the village’s primary school.
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“A jet fighter sent from Nam Kham dropped two bombs on the TNLA camp. The plane returned and dropped two more bombs,” a 20-year-old anonymous source said, who witnessed the 4 pm attack on Loi Tay Mueng Hill next to Jae Lant.
Artillery attacks happened the same day as the jet fighter arrived and the day before. The regime fired shells from Praying Hill and the 105-mile Trade Zone and dispatched troops to the area from Nawng Hseng.
Sai Aik Yon, who didn’t want to provide his real name, said that a shell hit the Sao Hsur Khan Fa Primary School at around 4 pm on 29 August.
“After the bombardment on Loi Tay Mueng Hill, the Burma army also attacked the TNLA with artillery.” At this time, he said it wasn’t possible to provide specific details about the damages incurred in his village.
“We still hear the sound of gunfire until the night, and no one dares to go out from their home.”
It’s believed that both civilians and the TNLA have been killed by shelling, but it was impossible for SHAN to verify this information at the time of the press.
A 50-year-old woman also requesting anonymity said she worries a shell will strike her home. “In my opinion, TNLA soldiers should not stay near our village. It’s better to fight somewhere else than on Loi Tay Mueng Hill,” she told SHAN.
A 60-year-old man was shot in his buttocks by a stray bullet when he attempted to bring his motorcycle inside his home. No one knows which of the armed groups fired the bullet. The man was sent to an ambulance waiting outside by a motorcycle after it was prevented from entering the village. He’s receiving medical treatment in Muse town.
Although some of the residents managed to escape to Muse, others remain trapped in the village.
TNLA has been clashing with the Burma Army in Muse Township since July.
