The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and military junta troops clashed on the evening of 15 October near Muse town in northern Shan State, destroying one civilian house by fire, according to local sources in Muse.
The two armies clashed at around 5:30 pm on 15 October when the junta troops opened artillery fire as the MNDAA troops approached Nam Hkon village, about three miles from Muse. The fighting lasted half an hour, burning down one civilian house, Muse residents said.
A local man from Muse said, “I heard that the junta troops opened artillery fire first when the MNDAA soldiers got close to Nam Hkon on the way to 105-Mile in Muse. Only the junta and Kokang troops are present in that areas. Nam Hkon seems to be the line which the Kokang troops are not supposed to cross. The Kokang troops’ fire burned a house in Nam Hkon village, but caused no casualties.”
A military analyst noted that fighting between the MNDAA and the military junta in Muse comes as the ethnic army faces pressure from Chinese authorities and the United Wa State Army (UWSA) to implement a ‘five cuts’ strategy in the Special Region 1 under their control.
“The fighting erupted just east of Muse. It started around 5:30pm and quieted down by 6pm. They fired for about 20 minutes. Some say the clash broke out because a militia force came to test their guns in Nam Hkon village. China has already told them not to touch Muse at all. So it’s hard to say what will happen next,” said a military observer from Muse.
Similarly, the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) announced on 14 October that they had seized full control of Hsipaw town on 13 October 13, after more than two months of offensive operations against Light Infantry Battalion 503 and 504 and Infantry Battalion 23 of the military junta, despite pressure from China.
Within a year of launching the first and second phases of “Operation 1027,” the TNLA and MNDAA have captured and now control almost all cities in northern Shan State, including Lashio, where the Northeast Regional Command is located.
Unlike Tangyan, which the UWSA occupies, and Mongyai , which the Shan State Progress Party/Shan State Army (SSPP/SSA) secures, no ethnic armed group has yet attacked or controlled Muse, a key trading point on the Myanmar-China border.
Although SSPP/SSA, Kachin Independence Army (KIA), TNLA, and MNDAA forces surround Muse, they have not previously clashed neither with the junta troops or junta-backed militia forces, according to locals.
In September, due to pressure from China, junta soldiers and police in Muse conducted a show arrest of online scammers and handed over 350 Chinese nationals to Chinese police, Muse residents reported.
Sent by Shan News.
