TNLA Clashes With SAC Near Hsipaw

The State Administration Council (SAC) indiscriminately fired shells following clashes with the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), the armed wing of the Palaung State Liberation Front, in Hsipaw Township, northern Shan State.

On Wednesday morning, Ta’ang troops fought SAC soldiers near Mong Tay village, located about 20 miles from Hsipaw town, where Infantry Battalion 23 shelled the area with artillery in different directions.

“We heard the sound of artillery shells in Hsipaw town throughout the morning. Burma army soldiers would not allow people to travel to Mang Hel and Ner Hkai,” a Hsipaw resident said, explaining that both groups have taken up positions on opposing sides of what is left of the Mong Tay Bridge, where they are exchanging gunfire.

The source mentioned that many people from San Phueak fled to the Shan Literature and Cultural Hall in the old quarter of Hsipaw to escape the shelling that started Tuesday night.

SAC’s Light Infantry Battalions 503 and 504 blew up the Mong Tay Bridge, connecting Hsipaw and Namtu townships, on December 28 to try to prevent advancing TNLA troops. The Burma army soldiers also planted hidden landmines around the area, and a Mong Tay villager and a Shan State Progress Party soldier lost their legs after stepping on a mine in early January.

The Three Brotherhood Alliance, of which TNLA is a part, met with SAC officials for the third time during another Chinese-brokered meeting in Kunming, but neither side could reach an agreement.

The alliance has continued its offensives in northern Shan State as part of its 1027 operation, named after the day it started on October 27. According to TNLA’s information department, the groups intend to capture all of their remaining military targets, including military camps and several more towns in northern Shan State.