Locals torch KIA checkpoint after troops shoot and injure civilian driver

Local residents burned down a Kachin Independence Army (KIA) checkpoint on Tuesday after a soldier opened fire on a civilian cargo vehicle that did not stop for inspection in Muse Township, northern Shan State, residents reported. Locals said that a KIA soldier shot and seriously injured the local driver, 30-year-old Sai Lai Sai, when he failed to stop at a checkpoint near Nam Lai, a village on the highway between the towns of Muse and Namkham. “They said they shot because the car didn’t stop, and that hitting our villager was an accident. The villagers don’t accept them setting up a checkpoint there either. Since this happened, they destroyed their checkpoint,” said a Nam Lai villager. The driver was reportedly sent to Muse Hospital due to the severity of his injuries. “He was hit both in the chest and under the armpit. This morning, they extracted the bullets. The injury is quite severe,” said another local. KIA spokesperson Col. Naw Bu told Myanmar Now on Wednesday that they have detained the soldier responsible for the shooting. They added that the soldier intended to fire a warning shot at another vehicle that passed the checkpoint without stopping, but had accidentally hit Sai Lai Sai instead. “When ordered to stop for inspection at the checkpoint, the driver didn’t stop and sped away, so [the soldier] gave chase and fired as a warning gesture. During the pursuit shooting, another driver [Sai Lai Sai] got hit. We have also called in our comrade to investigate him according to regulations,” he said. Naw Bu added that the KIA is searching for the vehicle and driver that reportedly fled the checkpoint. Locals said that since the start of the year, the KIA had set up a checkpoint at the Nam Lai village entrance to collect money, despite frustration from residents who have to pay fees to several armed groups operating in the area. “They collect 100,000 kyat for a small car. They also collect from mobile grocery cars and vehicles carrying small amounts of goods. Since there are all kinds of groups here, we have to pay everyone. When we went to express our dissatisfaction, they wouldn’t move, saying they came to set it up under orders from above,” said a Namkham local. Although locals burned down and removed the checkpoint, not all KIA forces had withdrawn from the area. “They cleared off the main road. But they haven’t moved from the hill above where their officers stay. The villagers are still watching closely,” said the Nam Lai local. The KIA spokesperson added that if local residents have grievances, they should address them directly with KIA officials, but that destroying their assets could damage their long-term relations. While the Ta'ang National Liberation Army and Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army control most of the Muse-Namkham road, locals said that the KIA and the Shan State Progress Party/Shan State Army control Nam Lai, and that travelers and locals are forced to pay taxes to them all.

Locals torch KIA checkpoint after troops shoot and injure civilian driver

Tuesday’s shooting was the tipping point for locals, already frustrated over the costly KIA checkpoint

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