According to locals, the military council and its subordinate Pa-O National Organization (PNO) are reinforcing their forces in Pinlaung and Nyaungshwe Townships of Shan State.
On 1 April, about 30 military council troops arrived in Pinlaung military base training camp. Before that day, five military vehicles of the military council passed through Pinlaung, said a local from Pinlaung.
“The military council has sent its troops to Hsawngpyaung after the destruction of Naung Wow bridge. Yesterday, new recruits were sent to the Pinlaung military training camp. I don’t know where they came from. Their recruits are young. A vehicle carried at least 30 people. In the previous days, about five military vehicles came down,” the local said.
Similarly, the military council forces and militia PNO arrived in large numbers in the southern part of Inlay in Nyaungshwe Township on 1 April.
They fired heavy shells into Nyaunglebin village and Raypu village for two consecutive days.
According to the reports that cannot be independently confirmed, the tanks from Nay Pyi Taw have arrived in Pinlaung Township. Pinlaung Township is only 85 miles away from the military’s headquarters, Nay Pyi Taw. It is an important military area.
The military council is carrying out the reinforcements to conduct an offensive on the Shan-Karenni border. On the other hand, the joint revolutionary forces are deploying their troops.
A Pinlaung local said: “The PDFs are almost everywhere. More than half of the PDF is already in Pinlaung. Tension remains high as the military council is deploying troops there. Fighting is likely to intensify.”
If the fighting intensifies, the routes may be blocked. There could be a shortage of food and medicine for the IDPs and locals, said a displaced man.
“Now Germany road keeps open. As the fighting could become more intense, there will be food shortages. Because many roads have been closed. The region faces a shortage of rations,” said a displaced man.
The military council’s heavy shelling killed one civilian and wounded three others including child and woman in the fighting in Pinlaung.
Sent by Shan News