A unit of the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) has reportedly tried to seize a position from the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) in Kutkai, northern Shan State, leading to an ongoing turf dispute with its ally.

“The two forces had a dispute in a garden yesterday where MNDAA troops are staying,” a middle aged resident of Kutkai explained. TNLA troops arrived and raised their flag, said the man who was told by others that shots were fired between the two armed forces of the Three Brotherhood Alliance.

Soldiers from the MNDAA reportedly seized rifles from over five TNLA soldiers in the garden during the midday dispute on April 27. Afterward, both sides deployed more troops to the area located near Kawng Hker Junction.

“TNLA soldiers have been firing heavy and light weapons from their camp around 11 pm last night (April 27),” the man said, assuming they were letting off steam.

None of the group’s spokespersons responded to SHAN’s requests for comments about the incident.

Locals in Kutkai Township said that the TNLA and MNDAA exchanged fire near Maw Han village tract between Kutkai and Tamoenye towns on April 19.

“I thought they already solved this problem because soldiers from the two forces came to the Kar Lai area from Kutkai (to discuss it),” a military news source from Kutkai town informed SHAN.

The MNDAA has also reportedly disputed with the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in Namphetka in Kutkai township when Kokang soldiers attacked Kachin soldiers at a KIA checkpoint on the national highway.

Three Brotherhood Alliance—TNLA, MNDAA, and Arakan Army—have seized hundreds of Burma army bases and many towns after launching the 1027 Operation in northern Shan State late last year.