On Saturday, a clash occurred between the Shan State Progress Party/Shan State Army (SSPP/SSA) and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) in Kutkai Township, Muse District.

A frontline SSPP/SSA officer blamed TNLA soldiers for opening fire on his men at 1 pm near Hper Pyin in Mong Yu village-tract. He stated they had already informed TNLA that their column needed to travel from Mong Per to Mong Yu for an emergency case, where the Ta’ang group had been engaged in recent fighting with regime troops. The Shan officer mentioned that the fighting with the TNLA continued for the next five hours and they were still facing off on Sunday. He couldn’t confirm any casualties on either side.

For years, the SSPP/SSA and TNLA maintained a loose alliance while fighting against the Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army, eventually forcing the rival Shan group from northern Shan State.

SSPP/SSA and TNLA are both members of the Federal Political Negotiation and Consultative Committee, led by the United Wa State Army. Neither of the groups has signed the failed Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement brokered in 2015. However, SSPP/SSA representatives have recently traveled to Naypyidaw to meet with regime leaders. At the same time, the Shan armed group has clashed with the Burma army.

Fighting between the TNLA and the Burma army, supported by the People’s Militia Force, has been heavy in Kutkai and Muse townships since the end of August. During a battle near Hko Mong village in Kutkai Township, at least six junta soldiers died, and some Ta’ang soldiers were also killed on 21 September, according to reports from locally-based sources. Many civilians have also been killed since the fighting started, and people’s homes and religious buildings were destroyed by shelling.