Clashes in northern Shan State displace civilians

[webfact]

Clashes in northern Shan State displace civilians



YANGON: -- More clashes have been reported between the Ta’ang National Liberation Army and the Shan State Army-South this week, with both armed groups trading blame over the cause of hostilities, The Irrawaddy reported.

Fighting has been reported on successive days since Feb 7 across three townships in northern Shan State—Namkham, Namhsan and Kyaukme.

According to local media reports, several hundred villagers from Tauk San in Kyaukme Township have fled their homes as clashes continue.

Col Sai Hla, a spokesperson for the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS), the political wing of the Shan State Army-South (SSA-S), claimed Ta’ang forces attacked their base in Namkham on Sunday.

“They burned some houses at a village in Kyaukme Township. They even arrested some villagers, including monks who tried to help the villagers escape,” said Sai Hla.

Tar Bong Kyaw, general secretary of the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), denied the claims, while acknowledging that Ta’ang forces had arrested members of the RCSS.

The TNLA general secretary also repeated a claim, first leveled in November last year, that the SSA-S was cooperating with the Myanmar Army – an accusation the Shan armed group has repeatedly denied.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/content/150626


-- Thai PBS 2016-02-12