Gunfire Fight Ensues Between Northern Alliance, Tatmadaw near Lashio

By Hom Heim / Shan Herald Agency for News (S.H.A.N.) | August 20, 2018

The clashes took place in Mong Yaw for two hours on Friday morning.

Gunfire was exchanged between soldiers from the Burma Army and members of the Northern Alliance of ethnic armed groups in northern Lashio Township on Friday.

The clashes took place in the area known as Mong Yaw, which is 30 miles from Lashio town, from 9 a.m. until 11 a.m.

SHAN has been told that there are around 200 Northern Alliance soldiers from the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) in the area. On the Burma Army’s—or Tatmadaw’s—side, there are reportedly 90 troops from Light Infantry Battalion 420 engaged in the battles.

A health worker in Mong Yaw told SHAN that four government soldiers had been killed and three had been wounded; SHAN could not independently confirm these deaths. The individual did not provide any information about the number of casualties on the ethnic armed organizations’ side.

SHAN reported on Thursday that the government forces and the Northern Alliance had engaged in a series of battles in nearby Kutkai Township, also in northern Shan State, and that the Tatmadaw had brought in reinforcements from a nearby base.

The Northern Alliance is a coalition of armed groups that have opted to not sign the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement with Burma’s government and military. In addition to the MNDAA and the TNLA, its members include the Arakan Army and the Kachin Independence Army.